Griffith: Laws needed to ensure senior citizens get proper care, medical treatment, nutrition

The man who runs Government’s Community Elder Care Companion Programme is calling for a comprehensive law specifically designed to address elder abuse, neglect, and other issues affecting seniors.

Coordinator of the initiative, George Griffith said his research has pointed to an urgent need for such legislation.

“My own research says that we need comprehensive legislation that would deal with senior citizens, especially abuse when it occurs or even when we can anticipate that it is likely to occur,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“We have legislation which deals with children, legislation which deals with animals, but there is no precise legislation specifically designed to protect senior citizens in Barbados.”

The veteran social worker added: “We are told by the law enforcement agencies that when there is a case of abuse, the Offences Against the Person Act is used, and what makes it so much more difficult to deal with, is that such a senior citizen who is not able to clearly articulate what has been done to him or her creates an opportunity for abuse.”

Griffith insisted that a new law is therefore crucial if “we are to save our seniors from having this level of disadvantage”.

He said other concerns that legislation could tackle are cases in which relatives are reluctant to access health care for seniors.

“In fact, during COVID we had some situations where the elderly person wanted to get the vaccination, but their immediate relatives were reluctant to do so, and then that person was at risk. Then we have a situation where, based on information, the elderly need medical attention but the immediate relatives may not necessarily believe in medication and they might believe in bush medicine and, therefore persons, who are hypertensive or diabetic are left to suffer from the lack of medical care,” Griffith said.

He said new legislation should provide for seniors to have regular medical check-ups at the State-run polyclinics, warning that if seniors are not frequently treated by medical practitioners they could be exposed to serious non-communicable diseases such as strokes, heart attacks and diabetes.

Stressing the importance of helping the elderly manage their financial resources, Griffith said there were times when seniors are not able to access their pensions and other income, on their own.

“There are relatives who are charged with that responsibility but sometimes they do not provide food items that are necessary for the preparation of wholesome healthy meals for seniors. Sometimes there are household items that are not provided and sometimes they are most elusive when we want to set up meetings with them in order to discuss the management of their resources,” he stated.

Griffith also referred to another problem that the Community Elder Care Companion Programme is seeking to tackle.

“You may have a person living in a house where there are termites, where there is rat infestation…. Often we have to call the polyclinics to send out a team to look after these seniors. We cannot have our elder care companions in houses where there is evidence of rats. So when that happens, the polyclinics respond. But we believe that relatives have a duty to do that, and it’s a growing trend which we are trying to address,” the programme coordinator disclosed, adding that some cases were also referred to the Rural and Urban Development Commission or Welfare Department when necessary.

Griffith expressed concern that once the caregivers enter the homes, some family members tend to step back and stop carrying out usual duties.

“We are [only] there to assist. We are not there to take full control of that person’s management,” he stressed.

“Our concern is that the relatives understand very clearly that the community elder care companions that we allocate, are not maids. They are there to assist and work with the elders or the vulnerable persons. And we have to remind members of families – not all – that these persons are not maids. Their job is not to wash up wares, scrub houses and sweep yards and so on. They are to spend time with that elderly person helping with mental stimulation and keeping them in contact with the wider society.”

Griffith explained that the programme, which was launched in 2020 with home-visits only starting in mid-March last year due to the COVID-19pandemic, requires the caregivers and supervisors to go into households and provide a service for the elderly that is unlike traditional home help.

He said the initiative is aimed at addressing isolation and loneliness, social stimulation as well as to assist the seniors with a number of day-to-day activities which would allow them to maintain their independence, while at the same time ensuring they can remain at home for as long as possible.

“For instance, when the elder care companions go to their homes, they are involved in things like personal grooming, assisting with the preparation of a light meal, light laundry, errands within the immediate community and engaging them in conversations, card games, board games – things that would stimulate their thinking,” Griffith explained.

“The most important part of it [is] we stimulate brain function. I must tell you that we are very concerned, that the incidence of Alzheimer’s and dementia in Barbados is at least 25 per cent of the persons that we have to deal with. So we are talking about Alzheimer’s around 51 and dementia 122, for a total of 173, out of a [grand] total of 852,” he revealed.

Griffith disclosed that the 852 seniors who benefited from the programme cover the January to February period this year, and he expects that by the time the next report is compiled for March and April, that figure would increase to about 900.

There are three categories of seniors who can benefit from the programme –those living alone, those residing with family who are out to work for the greater part of the day, and those who live with younger people that are incapacitated and cannot take care of themselves.

Griffith said the overwhelming majority of families and seniors involved in the programme are satisfied with the service.

He gave the assurance that checks and balances are in place to ensure the programme is benefiting those who need the assistance and that the caregivers are giving the service required of them.

“After one year, I can say that the programme is worth its weight in gold, and these seniors we have visited so far are really benefiting from the Government [ensuring] that the care that once existed has been taken to a new and higher level,” Griffith stated.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb