Half a Million Victims of Elder Abuse

Earlier this year the House of Commons Health Select Committee published a report of its inquiry into elder abuse. It revealed that figures suggest up to half a million older people are being abused every day. The abuse ranges from physical and psychological abuse to financial abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Most abuse occurs in people’s own homes.

The Committee Chair, David Hinchcliffe MP said: ‘Abuse of older people is a hidden and often ignored problem in society. The profile of child abuse has been dramatically raised in the past few years and the Government has acted to introduce controls and measures to identify and tackle the problem; but abuse of older people remains in the background’.

The Committee’s recommendations included:
• The need for more research to identify the true scale of the problem.

• Improvements to the inspection of NHS facilities.

• Regular reviews of medication for care home residents to make sure that people are not being medicated inappropriately.

• Action to tackle financial abuse of older people.

• Compulsory training in elder abuse for all care staff.

• Improvements to the processes for certifying deaths in care homes.

The Government’s response to the report was awaited with interest. It came from Health Minister, Stephen Ladyman, who said: ‘We share the committee’s concerns for vulnerable adults and welcome the report…..We are determined to continue to do our utmost to protect vulnerable citizens by ensuring there is no hiding place in the care system for those who abuse’.

But Help the Aged was less than impressed. They said: ‘While Help the Aged welcomes the Government’s commitment to tackle elder abuse, we are disappointed that it appears to categorise abuse as an issue only for vulnerable adults who are receiving care services. The abuse of older people can happen to any person, anywhere, but, most commonly in people’s own homes, and requires a commitment from across Government to secure the rights of older people to live free from the fear of abuse and violence.

‘Older people are often afraid or embarrassed to speak out about abuse. Help the Aged is disappointed that the Government’s response did not give a much needed boost to independent advocacy, which can be essential in giving older people a voice’.

A new system to prevent known abusers from working with vulnerable adults, the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) register, was due to be introduced in July.
(Source: Help the Aged)