‘Government needs to do more to support the elderly’

Abuse and neglect of the elderly at home is a bigger problem than at care homes, spokesman for the Third Age Obervatory Dimos Antoniou said on Monday.

Speaking on CyBC radio, Antoniou said that while there are some institutions which have been flagged and are now closely monitored by authorities, these incidents are minimal compared with the mistreatment which is likely happening behind closed doors by informal carers, be they employees or relatives.

Antoniou said the registered complaints of mistreatment received from the elderly themselves and concerned others were likely being just the “tip of the iceberg.”

While negligence, such as dehydration, has been physically documented in care institutions, other abuses such as social isolation can be extremely detrimental for the elderly and we have as yet no clear picture about what happened during the two years of pandemic, Antoniou said.

A national strategy for the elderly and effective measures must be implemented, he urged, disparaging the amount of time wasted with “reinventing the wheel” during government procedures, when best practices and policies are well-known and established worldwide.

Earlier in October, the director of the Third Age Observatory drew attention to gaps in legislation and the lack of sufficient checks in nursing homes.

Geriatrician and head of the National Gerontology Centre NGO Marios Kyriazis published two photos taken from a nursing home in Nicosia as part of efforts to gather material to report the facility.

The first photo showed leftover bread from dinner, which was to be mixed with milk to create a type of pancake served as breakfast. Another photo showed a toilet without a seat next to a shower that was used to store mops and buckets.

Abuse has also come to light by relatives who suspected staff of mistreating their loved ones, however, they refused to make official complaints.

This is why a competent committee should be set up to carry out surprise inspections in nursing homes, Antoniou said.

Meanwhile, a new bill is expected to be approved by parliament providing for better checks in these facilities.

Other measures Antoniou advocated for are the introduction of a “friendly neighbour” system whereby neighbours agree to visit and keep an eye on the elderly in their area.

Economic relief measures to prevent at-risk pensioners from slipping below the poverty line are also extremely necessary, Antoniou said, and entities such as the electricity authority, Cyta and supermarkets should be mandated by the state to offer subsidies to this demographic.

In 2020 following the tragic death of an 84-year-old man who spent three days on the floor of his home after a fall, the Third Age Observatory demanded the implementation of the ‘red button’ system, which allows an elderly person to instantly reach a government emergency service by means of a bracelet worn 24/7.

The red button project was approved by cabinet on December 18, 2019 but has not been implemented to date.

Antoniou expressed frustration at the delay in implementation of this system which research has conclusively proven to save elderly lives, and help in the case of a break in.

A system of training must also be introduced, Antoniou concluded, both for police staff and domestic workers employed as carers to recognise signs of abuse and neglect.