IRELAND: Victims of elderly abuse blame family in majority of cases

. DUBLIN, Ireland / Irish Independent / November 11, 2008 By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent Older people who complain of mistreatment or abuse are most likely to point the finger of blame at a relative, particularly a son or daughter. There were 600 complaints about alleged elder abuse between January and May this year, and 93pc claimed it happened in their own homes, according to new figures released yesterday. When asked who the alleged perpetrator was, 39pc blamed a son or daughter, 20pc implicated a spouse, and 12pc made the allegation against another relative. And 56pc were living in the same house as their alleged abuser. A similar trend was apparent last year, showing most abuse occurred in the home. The figures showed 85pc happened in the elderly person's house; 3pc in an acute hospital setting; 4pc in private nursing homes; 4pc in a relative's home; 3pc in public homes for the elderly; and 1pc in boarding/lodging facilities. The 2007 statistics indicate that a family member is most likely (82pc) to abuse an elderly relation, followed by a carer (6pc), neighbour (4pc), and other patients (1pc). Another 7pc is accounted for other groups in society. The extent of distress caused to older people emerged as the Health Service Executive (HSE) launched an 'Open Your Eyes' awareness campaign, which is aimed at highlighting the often hidden issue of elder abuse and the means of reporting it. The abuse can be physical, sexual, psychological, financial or discriminatory -- which is where the older person is the victim of ageism, sexism, harassment or insult. The HSE said it was focusing particularly on the issue of financial abuse in the campaign and wanted to draw attention to the exploitation of an older person in the area of theft, fraud, wills, power of attorney or duping somebody out of property. Exploitative A spokeswoman said: "Financial abuse was the third most reported form of abuse in 2007 and 2008, and one of the most difficult to identify -- it is difficult to distinguish between acceptable exchange and exploitative conduct, between misconduct and mismanagement. "It can be as simple as collecting the pension or taking money for petrol, or it can involve hundreds of thousands of euro if power of attorney or property is transferred," she added. Frank Murphy, chairman of the HSE National Steering Committee on Elder Abuse, said: "Any individual or organisation may be guilty of abuse. Most often, it is someone well known to the person, for example a family member, friend or care provider -- a relationship where there is an expectation of trust. "In some cases, businesses can be complicit in elder abuse through poor practices or an absence of appropriate training or guidelines for staff." The HSE has advised anyone who is being abused to talk to a GP, public health nurse or garda. Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent © Independent.ie