Evelyn Joel - Death raises questions for Irish society

AS health authorities and gardaí probe the unconscionable circumstances surrounding the death of a Wexford woman admitted to hospital suffering from starvation, hard questions have to be faced by Irish society.

It is understandable that feelings of revulsion and anger should be provoked following the death of 58-year-old Evelyn Joel six days after she was admitted to hospital suffering from severe malnutrition.

Without preempting the outcome of ongoing investigations, it is entirely appropriate, indeed essential, that all the facts of this appalling case should be brought into the public domain.

First and foremost, the question on people’s lips is how such a tragedy could happen at all? Was it due to neglect or is there some other explanation?

How could a woman, bedridden with arthritis and multiple sclerosis, end up spending her final months in such horrendous conditions that, according to gardaí, she lay in her own excrement and with maggots on her body.

How could she be allowed starve to such an extent that when she was found she weighed less than four stone? How could that happen in the heart of a family and in the midst of a housing estate?

What does it say about the changing face of an Ireland that was once noted for its caring and Christian ethos? Has society been transformed so profoundly by the relentless pressures of modern life that behind the door of a house she shared with her daughter, her partner and their two children, the plight of a woman who had been well-liked in the community could go unnoticed?

It has to be asked whether her death is in any sense symptomatic of how senior citizens are treated in Ireland today.

Given the perplexing nature of the Enniscorthy tragedy it is understandable that questions concerning the moral and legal responsibilities of individuals and agencies should be asked.

This tragedy has implications for us all. The issues have to be faced, not alone by family members, but by the health authorities and other State agencies and also by the community at large. Where, for instance, does the duty of care rest?

The alacrity of the response of the Health Service Executive (HSE) in setting up a team to investigate the tragedy is commendable. But as an integral part of that inquiry, the HSE must conduct an in-depth review of its own service provision to the dead woman and her family.

Though Ms Joel was relatively young when she died, the gut wrenching manner of her death has focused the spotlight on the glaring inadequacy of Ireland’s services for senior citizens.

Despite a Department of Health report on the growing abuse of elderly people in Ireland, calls for 32 senior social workers to be appointed have gone unheeded since 2002. The Government has rightly been accused of sitting on its hands.

Without pre-judging this case, it is an unfortunate but perhaps inevitable fact of life that in every society circumstances can arise from time to time which are beyond the reach of the public services. Invariably, individual cases can fall through the net.

However, in the 21st century, and in one of Europe’s richest states, the tragedy of Evelyn Joel’s appalling death is a poignant reminder that there are only 18 social workers in the entire country with responsibility for looking after elderly people - who are among the most vulnerable in society.