TRINIDAD: Old age homes face closure with new law

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (Trinidad Express), March 3, 2008: Several homes for elderly people are facing closure as government prepares to pass laws governing their operations. Trinidad and Tobago Association of Homes for Older Persons president Roslyn Scott said that there were flaws in the Bill that will cause a large number of the 131 registered homes to close down. She said the Association had not be given the opportunity to make an input into the proposals laid out by the Department of Ageing in the Ministry of Social Development. Scott said a large number of the homes were set up on rented property and the operators would not be able to make the necessary renovations required when the new laws come into effect. The new laws call for proper ventilation, sufficient bathrooms and bedroom space for each resident. The Ageing Department also specified that managers of the Homes must be over the age of 25 and no more than 65 years. "This is an outrage," Scott said. She said that people who were mentally and physically fit should be allowed to operate the homes and only those who were incapable banned from running the homes. Another clause that has found disfavour with the group was a plan to place residents in categories such as stage one, two and three according to their physical condition. It was based on observations which showed that those who suffered with diseases required specialised care and facilities not available at most of the homes. By setting up three categories of homes, residents would receive the necessary care, government officials argued. Scott said that they should not be moved. "The bodies of older persons are frail and with a number of diseases affecting them, they grow weaker every day," she said. She said that once they grew familiar with their surroundings, it would be cruel to move them. Joyce Lawson, who runs a home for the elderly in Curepe, said that government had shown contempt for the homes which saved the state a great deal of resources over the years. "We need help not criticism. We had been struggling over the years and require assistance to provide better care," she said. Lawson said residents received a pension of $1,650 a month which translated into $55 a day for three meals, snacks twice a day and personalised care. "It is just insufficient," she said. Among the homes offering care to the elderly La Vida Convalescence Home, Pierre Road, Charlieville, Chaguanas has specialised care for stroke victims, people with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and other debilitating diseases associated with the elderly. A senior official said, "There is simply not enough medical care provided for the elderly." She said that an increasing number of elderly people were being dumped and forgotten by their families. Each one of them had to be coaxed into taking an interest in life on a day to day basis, she said. "It breaks my heart," the Registered Nurse with more than 40 years of experience in caring for the old and the sick, said. She said that early detection of diseases like prostate cancer could help many aged men avoid "deep suffering." "Our elders are left on their own with a meagre pension that cannot afford them a visit to a private doctor," she said adding that a visit to a urologist cost $300 and a biopsy to detect prostate cancer in its early stages cost $3,500. By Ariti Jankie, South Bureau Copyright 2008 Trinidad Express