Bullying elderly over property or land increased

INCREASING numbers of elderly people are being bullied into signing over their property or land by abusive carers or relatives, an expert on elder abuse told a conference yesterday.

He also said the HSE has committed itself to employing up to 32 senior case workers over the next year who will work exclusively on the growing problem of elder abuse.

There are no definite figures on the extent of elder abuse in this country but it is believed up to 20,000 people could be suffering.

Speaking at the Exploring Isolation, Loneliness and Elder Abuse in Ireland organised by the Senior Helpline in Ireland in Dublin, Project Manager for Elder Abuse in the HSE, North East Area, Austin Warters said many old people are frightened about “being thrown out of their home” if they don’t give into demands by abusers.

“Apart from financial and general physical abuse, there is also a large number of people who are abused by their partners. You have to remember that domestic abuse does not end at the age of 60. A great number of people are also abused by relatives with drug or psychiatric problems who can make their lives a misery,” said Mr Warters.

“The issue of property is very big now. You look at an old person who owns a couple of acres in the country. One of those acres could be worth up to €100,000 if it was sold on and people are aware of that.”

Mr Warters argued the HSE is committed to fighting the problem of elder abuse and that a national implementation committee has been working on making policy of the Department of Health’s ‘Protecting Our Future’ report, published in 2002.

“An elder abuse working group has also been set up and this is looking at gathering information on the extent of the abuse across the country,” he added.

The 32 planned senior case workers will deal with complaints in the community and also from nursing home inhabitants.