Elderly care facilities coming for each parish

As the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs works to give the elderly population a better quality of life, it will be partnering with the Soroptimist International of Barbados and the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) to open small elderly care facilities in each parish.

Minister Kirk Humphrey made this disclosure earlier this morning at the reopening of National Assistance Board Lancaster House in Lancaster, St James.

He said the elderly population was growing and it was important to have safe spaces for retired persons, especially those abandoned by relatives or who find themselves in unfortunate situations.

During the ceremony, Humphrey said the government spent about $3 million to renovate Lancaster House and Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village in Christ Church, which will be reopened in December.

He said Lancaster House was in a deplorable condition and what saddened him during a site visit in January this year was the fact that people were staying at the mould-infested facility and workers were carrying out duties in unacceptable conditions.

Lancaster House was officially opened in June 2017. It is a transitional facility for elderly people and other householders who experienced a shock, such as a fire or a natural disaster, and needed somewhere to stay. The facility can accommodate seven families. (SZB)