A TOTAL of 1,500 cases of older people suffering from abuse are being investigated in the State, new Health Service Executive (HSE) figures reveal.
The statistics, unveiled at a conference in Galway to highlight World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, provisionally show that most of the abuse is being perpetrated by a family member in the elderly person’s home. One in 10 cases have been referred to the Garda.
Minister of State for Older People Máire Hoctor told the conference that abuse of the elderly was “simply unacceptable”.
She also voiced concern about the lack of awareness surrounding the issue. “We must learn from the mistakes of the past,” she said.
The figures, the first of their kind, show that the most common type of abuse reported is psychological. This could include threats of harm or abandonment, humiliation, verbal abuse, isolation or intimidation.
Abuses of neglect make up 21 per cent of the referrals.
Financial abuse accounts for one-fifth of cases, while physical abuse accounts for 17 per cent.
Bridget McDaid, HSE West elder abuse officer, said: “There is a lot of shame and denial associated with the abuse. They almost begin to accept it as normal.”
An early analysis of the figures shows that 83 per cent of referrals were from seniors living in their own homes, while in 96 per cent of cases the abuser was a family member.
At the conference a DVD was launched which aims to advise caregivers in residential settings on how to identify elder abuse. A policy document, Responding to Allegations of Elder Abuse, was also published.
“I have seen cases where people are not properly clothed or fed, or the heating in the house is inadequate. There could also be physical assaults,” said Galway-based Susan Rodden, one of the 23 HSE elder abuse case workers.
She added that many victims preferred not to report the abuse due to their “emotional attachment” to the abuser.
Clare O’Tuathail, a lecturer at the school of nursing and midwifery at NUI Galway, said that for every reported case, 10 to 15 others were unreported.
“There are no proper figures, but 21,500 people may be subject to abuse at any particular time in Ireland,” she told the conference.
She said work needed to be done in terms of encouraging health professionals to report abuse, and that an urgent evaluation was needed of their training.