Call for crack down on unlicensed care homes amid elder abuse claims

A former elder care minister has called for urgent action to tackle the abuse and exploitation of elderly people, warning that unlicensed care homes and unscrupulous individuals are preying on some of society’s most vulnerable.

St Thomas MP and Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Cynthia Forde, issued a plea for greater protection and respect for the island’s elderly population on Thursday.

In a candid keynote speech to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at the Soroptimist International Village in Eden Lodge, Forde recounted a recent phone call she received from a concerned individual in the United States about alleged mistreatment at an unregistered senior care home in Barbados. The story, she said, left her deeply disturbed.

“The story that was given of what is happening in Barbados in some homes broke my heart… that one took away every piece of energy from me yesterday evening,” she said.

Though she did not give specifics on what was allegedly occurring at that particular home, the veteran MP disclosed that she immediately attempted to contact the chief medical officer to initiate an investigation, noting that, unfortunately, many such facilities are operating without official approval from the Ministry of Health.

Forde said: “One or two, I understand, are not properly registered. They just open up their house, refurbish it, open it up and take in senior citizens, and then they don’t have the adequate staff or they don’t have the adequate space or they don’t have the adequate training to be able to look after the needs of seniors, but [are] charging big money.

“It has to stop. I understand some of them are illegal. They’ve opened them up without the permission of the Ministry of Health, and therefore the clients there are suffering; they’re substandard homes, according to what I’m hearing.”

She revealed that she also continues to receive reports of financial abuse, where elderly persons are stripped of their pensions, benefits and personal property.

“They are going to attorneys-at-law and little old folks are giving away their rights. This power of attorney and deed of gift and all those areas—financial challenges. Not all will be like that because there are some families who said from the beginning, ‘I am going to bequeath so and so and so to this child’ and they’ve done it the legal way and it works out,” she said. “But for strangers to come in to befriend the seniors and then take away the pension cheques or whatever cash they have, or take them to the bank to sign and sign away their lives, and then all the money goes….”

Forde decried a particular case in which a senior’s burial funds were allegedly withdrawn by family members without her consent.

Forde applauded the government’s efforts to develop an elder care department, but warned that more decisive enforcement is needed.

She said: “I just want to see two or three get locked up, though. I know that once two or three get locked up, I believe the trend will just drop and therefore other people will be sensitised.

“…. We are working as best as we can to be able to bring such matters, but we want to follow the legal route. We can’t just go and point a finger.” (SB)