Abusing elderly could bring $100K fine, jail under new bill

People who abuse elderly relatives or residents in their care would face fines of up to $100 000, five years in prison, or both — and anyone from doctors to phone repairmen who fails to report suspected mistreatment could be fined $10 000 — under sweeping legislation tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

The penalties form part of the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill, laid before the House of Assembly by Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Adrian Forde.

The bill addresses the care and wellbeing of people aged 65 and over, including standards for residential facilities and expectations of how families treat elderly relatives in their care.

Under the protection of older persons provisions, abuse and neglect carry serious penalties. A person who commits such acts “is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $100 000 or to a term of imprisonment of five years or to both”.

Forde said: “If you’re caught and you’re found guilty of committing any of these offenses, abuse, psychologically, emotionally or otherwise. Neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation, you can face fines of up to $100 000 imprisonment or both. That’s the message that goes out to whoever may be concerned. Caregivers, family members, and institutions may also be held accountable. Which means it’s also putting government on notice because we provide care.”

The minister also outlined mandatory reporting requirements under the legislation, identifying those responsible for flagging suspected abuse:

“It includes health professionals are after the doctor does an examination and realize that there’s some form of abuse, that doctor, that nurse, or whoever, or if the pharmacists believe that there is based on the frequency and the amount of medication being dispensed, the person that there’s some form of pharmacological abuse, that healthcare professional has a duty to report that abuse to the authorities.”

He stressed that reporting is no longer optional:

“Contact the police and report that abuse, this bill speaks to hospital administrators, social workers, and social service professionals, law enforcement officers. Telecommunications service providers — they go and they see something was repairing, phone or whatever, and then they repairing a computer and they see something that speaks to a level of abuse to the elderly person. They are duty bound to report it…any other person who by virtue of the nature of their work.”

Forde added that failure by those duty-bound individuals to report abuse could result in a $10 000 fine, while protections are in place for those who come forward, even anonymously.

“The reports can be made anonymously, you don’t have to identify yourself if you don’t want to, because of fear of retaliation. We know that is going on in our society — victimisation. You can say that you see something happening, go off on a private phone and make the call, do what you have to do because that anonymous report will also be given the same visual acuity as any other report. The authorised officers are empowered; these are officers that are empowered to investigate, enter premises, interview relevant persons, and assess care and living conditions.”

He further noted that the legislation protects individuals who report concerns in good faith.

“This means that you report something in good faith, even if after the investigations your report, they find that the reporting was not entirely correct based on what you saw, you don’t have to have the fear of somebody, the police come and arrest you and prosecute you later on because you report based on what you thought happened and what you saw.”

In emergencies, the minister said, authorities can act swiftly to remove elderly people from unsafe environments without a court order.

“We may go into a facility and find that you don’t have the roof; at any moment the roof can cave in. We may find rat droppings, and we get a call from the officers from the Ministry of Health and say get that person from there immediately, there’s a situation like leptospirosis or, vermin-borne disease could affect that person. We have to move with alacrity to get that person from there, and this, with the legislation, allows immediate action from the officers.”

Concerned individuals can also apply to the court to have an elderly person relocated where necessary:

“Maybe a person with responsibility for an older person may apply to the court for an order to remove the older person from his place of residence to a safe place where the person has knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that the individual, the older person, is in need of care and protection. In this regard, the older person may be held in a safe place for a period not exceeding six months.”

Such cases required court oversight, with placements subject to review to determine whether alternative care arrangements could be made, Forde explained. 

The legislation also provides for the establishment of a national register of abuse cases, to be managed by the Social Empowerment Agency: “A register of abuse with the following details: the name, address, telephone number of the older person in need of care and protection. The nature of the abuse to which the older person in need of care and protection was subjected to, the time, date, and location of the abuse to which the older person in need of care and protection was subjected to. The name and address and telephone number of the alleged perpetrator. The name, address and telephone number of the caregiver, relative, or friend of the older person in need of care and protection and any other information which the agency, which is SEA, deems fit for the purposes of completion of the register.”

The agency will be required to keep all information confidential, with access restricted to authorised individuals, including the executive director and people approved by the court or by law. Unlawful disclosure of information from the register carries a penalty of up to $10 000.

(LG)