'They are being neglected': Report reveals hundreds of abuse cases against over 65s 

Volunteers say older people are often getting ‘no family support’ as report reveals that reports of adult abuse rose by 10% in 2020 

Friendly Call volunteers and service users on a visit to Nano Nagle Place.

A group of volunteers helping elderly people in Cork has said that they often see “a complete lack of family support” in vulnerable older people’s lives as a HSE report has revealed that 550 allegations of abuse against people over 65 in Cork and Kerry were made to safeguarding teams in 2021.

The HSE recorded 1,583 reports of abuse against adults aged 18-64 made in 2021 in the two counties, compared to 1,342 reports in 2020. 

Some 218 of those reports alleged abuse against people over 80. 

Brenda Barry, the leader of Cork City Partnership’s ‘Friendly Call’ service, said that she has had to make multiple referrals to the Cork and Kerry adult safeguarding team, and they also refer vulnerable people to her service, which provides over the phone support to over 370 people.

Cork Friendly Call volunteers call older people in the community for a chat during the week.

“We have over 70 volunteers who make calls to elderly people every day. Most of the time, they are just providing companionship, but there are instances where they have to pass safeguarding concerns onto me. I have had to refer some of our clients, with their permission, to the safeguarding team in cases of neglect, self-neglect, and on a few occasions when I had concerns about people being abused in their own homes,” Ms Barry said.

The Cork woman says that often volunteers end up doing shopping or bits of house maintenance for clients as they aren’t supported by their families “for whatever reason”, or they have no living relatives.

“We had one woman in her 70s who was on dialysis, and she was living in the dark for god knows how long because she couldn’t get any of her children or anyone else to come and change her lightbulbs. We changed them for her,” Ms Barry said.

The Friendly Call volunteers also help older people to avoid being the victims of financial abuse, in particular in the context of the recent surge in scam calls and texts seen in Ireland over the last few years.

Cork's Friendly Call service connects older people who may have become socially isolated.

“I have had a woman tell me that she got a text saying she could double her Tesco points, and I reminded her that she didn’t even have an account,” Ms Barry added.

Celine Clarke, the Head of Advocacy for Age Ireland, says that due to staff shortages safeguarding teams across the country are overly reliant on volunteers and that this is one of the areas where the state is “failing its duty of care” to older people.

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“We are calling for the establishment of a commissioner for ageing and older persons, the introduction of adult safeguarding legislation, and the expansion of the legal concept of coercive control beyond intimate relationships.

“There are over 1m people over the age of 60 in Ireland today most of whom do not have access to representative bodies or state resolution mechanisms that are available to employees of business owners. A commissioner would address this gap by bringing representation and transparency to issues relevant to older people.

“Figures from the HSE’s report show that psychological abuse against older people is the most widely reported, which can include financial abuse of an older person in a family setting. We need to change our legislation so older people are protected,” Ms Clarke said. 

The HSE’s National Safeguarding Annual Report for 2021, published in recent days, revealed a 10% increase in reports of abuse against adults in the last year. A total of 11,640 reports were.

Within those reports, there were 13,791 types of abuse alleged by concerned staff, family members, volunteers, neighbours, and even strangers.

Psychological abuse accounted for 46% of reports, followed by physical abuse at 34%. Sexual abuse, neglect, self-neglect, discrimination, and institutional and financial abuse were all reported too.

The number of referrals made by voluntary agencies jumped from 38% of all reports in 2016 to 69% in 2021.

Reports made regarding those in disability services and older persons services who are aged over 65 saw a sharp increase. In seven out of nine of the country's community health organisations (CHOs), the majority of concerns for over-65s came from the disability sector.

The number of referrals made by voluntary agencies jumped from 38% in 2016 to 69% in 2021.

A designated officer from a safeguarding team who is quoted anonymously in the report said that “it is still firefighting staff shortages, rosters being filled. It is all shoulders to the wheel.” 

The HSE report stated that the HSE National Service Plan 2022 recognises that “further investment is needed in safeguarding and it will be critical that this is within the context of the development of CHO’s and Regional Health Areas.”