Elderly abuse claims rising (From Echo)
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Elderly abuse claims rising
4:00pm Monday 24th September 2012 in News
By Stephen Hackwell
Elderly abuse claims rising
ALLEGATIONS of abuse of Southend’s elderly and vulnerable residents have more than quintupled in number over the last five years.
Statistics released by Southend Council have revealed 621 complaints of financial or physical mistreatment were made last year, compared to just 123 in 2006/07.
The relevation comes after an investigation ruled more help could have been given to an 81-year-old woman, who died despite repeatedly claiming she had been beaten by her husband.
However, council chiefs insisted the alarming rise in allegations was actually a good sign, as it meant more people were reporting potential problems.
Mike Boyle, the authority’s head of commissioning, said: “It is important to say the council does not think more people are being abused, but that detection and awareness have improved.
“Most alerts were about concerns for older people, relating to either financial abuse or neglect.
“A third of alerts were in relation to standards in care homes.”
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Comments (2)
4:23pm Mon 24 Sep 12
jolllyboy says...
So working out how many care homes we have left in the area that ratio per home is appalling.
Why are not more checks made?
Why are alerts not made more public when found to be well founded?
What exactly is done by the authorities?
Would council members like their relatives to be in a Care Home knowing this I wonder.
8:47pm Mon 24 Sep 12
Nebs says...