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Facts on Elder Abuse - Australia

By Adonis Maglis Community Development & Education Officer – Australian Greek Welfare Society

Australian Greek Welfare Society presented 2 seminars recently on Elder Abuse (one in McLeod & one in Keilor Downs) as a response to the Greek Community’s issues and concerns which are rising. Through AGWS’ Men’s Relationships program it has become evident that Elder Abuse Incidents within our Greek Community are on the rise. These include physical, sexual, psychological, financial and emotional. The very last seminar on Elder Abuse will be in Epping on the 9^th of May. AGWS encourages all to attend.

 

Elder Abuse in Australia  

·  In comparing population numbers from around the world, it is projected that there are over 20,000 unreported cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation in Victoria per year and approximately 100,000 throughout Australia per year. Other estimates include

20,000 for NSW and 25,000 for Queensland .

·  Almost four times as many new incidents of abuse, neglect, and exploitation are not reported as those that were reported to and substantiated by adult protective services agencies and/or ombudsman entities. These predictions are also accurate for Australia . Thus 20,000 becomes 80,000. 100,000 becomes 400,000.  

·  Nursing Home Statistics 2004 National Nursing Home Survey:

 

Ø In 2004, there were a total of 16,100 nursing homes and about 1.5 million residents receiving care, according to the latest Federal government figures.

Ø In 2005, nearly half of all nursing home residents had dementia and 20 percent had other psychological diagnoses.

Ø People at age 65 face at least a 40 percent lifetime risk of entering a nursing home.

 

Lack of Reporting Mechanisms

 

·  There are no mandatory reporting requirements in any State or Territory throughout Australia for elder abuse which is occurring in the community setting.

·  Effective 1 July 2007 , there is a compulsory reporting for all residential care facility staff for only incidents of serious physical assault and criminal sexual assault.

·  There is no central database in any State of Territory to record incidents of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation of vulnerable adults.

·  There are no hard statistics or analytical reports stating the exact number of cases of elder abuse in any State or Territory.

·  EAPA is putting in a database within the next six months which will provide accurate reporting from over 300 cases [and growing daily] of elder abuse from community settings to residential care settings in all States and Territories.

·  There is real confusion in most states in Australia about where to go for assistance and currently there are no adequate response systems for those who need to report.

 

Concerns for the Federal Government

 

·  By 2025 it is estimated that elder abuse will be costing the health system over $350 million dollars per year.

·  The Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme received 1260 complaints in 2005-6.

·  The Aged Rights Advocacy Service in SA received 878 complaints from residential care – 422 about the level of care in nursing homes in 2005-2006.

(Photo: Ms Lillian Jetter – CEO of Elder Abuse Prevention Association with Ms Poppy Hearn AGWS Men’s Relationships Counsellor from a recent AGWS Elder Abuse seminar in Moonee Valley)

 

 

 

     

Causative Factors within Residential Care Facilities

 

·  Since 1997, there have been no minimum staffing requirements with the Aged Care Act which merely states that a nursing home maintain an “adequate number of appropriately skilled” staff.

·  There have been changes to state and federal laws that mean facilities no longer have to employ a minimum number of qualified nurses.

·  May 2005 Report from Aged Care Association Australia represented only 93 responses or 3% of the 2,963 facilities at the time. The facilities comfortable with their competence in complaints handling were the majority of those completing the survey – resulting in 97% of the facilities not feeling competent about their complaints handling.

·  Failure to provide a level of staffing is often a causative factor for residents to be at a critical risk of such serious problems as infections, bedsores, weight loss, functional decline and avoidable hospitalizations – placing the residents in serious jeopardy.

·  Some facilities owned and operated by For Profit Corporations care more about the bottom line than overall quality of resident care and treatment. They do not provide the salaries and incentives that would attract enough qualified doctors, nurses, and aides to properly care for residents.

·  75% of the residents in residential care facilities do not receive regular visits by relatives, are visited infrequently or not at all - thus these residents are not well represented in complaints.

·  In the Aged Care Association Australia 2005 study, respondents stated that focused training on complaints handling and its processes is minimal or absent in about a third of all facilities. As to accountability, staff are not always clear about procedures and what to do when they encounter a complaint. The response “fall through the cracks” represented 20% of the answers given by the facilities questioned.

·  One third of the facilities stated they handled complaints “informally”.

·  “We lose good staff because we do not prepare and support them properly to handle complaints” featured in 12% of the answers by respondents for their facility.

 

Legal Issues

·  There are no special statutes to cover neglect, mistreatment, or psychological abuse in any State or Territory.

·  Elder abuse is not taught in the law school curriculum.

·  Elder abuse is not a specialty area of law with most elder lawyers dealing with wills and estate matters.

·  Elder Abuse cases are extremely difficult to prosecute in court due to lack of specific Elder abuse laws as well as due to unduly influenced and/or incapacitated victims.

 

(Photo: Ms Lillian Jetter – CEO of Elder Abuse Prevention Association with Mr. Adonis Maglis AGWS Community Development & Education Officer from a recent AGWS Elder Abuse seminar in Moonee Valley)

 

 

 

 

   

Victimization Facts

·  Persons, aged 80 years and older, suffer abuse and neglect two to three times their proportion of the older population.

·  Among known perpetrators of abuse and neglect, the perpetrator is a family member in 90 percent of the cases.

·  Two-thirds of the perpetrators are adult children or spouses.

·  The offender is most commonly a close relative, especially a grown child, spouse, or sibling.

·  Less often, the abuser is a son-, or daughter-in-law, grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend and neighbor.

·  The typical target is a frail, ailing woman more than 70 years old.

·  In most cases, the victim and the abuser live in the same household in social isolation from friends, neighbors, and kin who might otherwise informally deter the wrongdoing.

·  When homebound parents are physically beaten or financially exploited, sons are the most likely culprits.

·  When daughters and daughters-in-law are abusive, their maltreatment usually takes the form of emotional and physical neglect.

·  Mistreatment by home health aides and nursing home staff members is also suspected to be commonplace (Page low, 1989).

·  Older persons who are mistreated can suffer from severe emotional distress, especially depression, and are likely to die more quickly.

   

 (Photo: participants from the AGWS Elder Abuse Seminar presented in the City of Banyule recently)

 

Warning Signs of Elder Abuse

Residential Care Facilities

 

·  Does the resident have obvious signs of new physical trauma in the form of open cuts, fractures, welts, burns, bruises?

·  Is the resident’s medical condition deteriorating rapidly?

·  How is the resident’s hygiene being maintained? Condition, regular bathing, oral hygiene, unkempt appearance, untrimmed nails?

·  Does the resident demonstrate unexpected or unusual behavior?

Emotionally upset, agitated, withdrawn, and fearful or make unusual or frequent complaints?

·  Is there evidence of unwarranted use of medication or restraints?

·  Is the patient correcting positioned in bed and turned/moved frequently?

·  Are room and facility conditions clean and sanitary? Are faecal or urine odors present in the room or facility?

·  Is the staff responsive to family questions and requests for assistance and changes?

·  Is there enough staff present for the resident’s unit and are frequent room visits made?

·  Does the staff answer call bells or cried for help in a timely manner?

·  Does the staff give proper assistance during meals?

·  Does the staff help residents with walking?

·  Does the staff give proper encouragement and assistance with lifestyle activities?

·  Are financial matter handled properly? Is the resident aware of their finances?

·  Are the resident’s funds secure and kept in interest-bearing accounts?

·  Is stealing or embezzling of a resident’s monies or property occurring?

 

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