No formal system to document cases of abuse of the elderly

There is no formal system in place to document cases of abuse of the elderly.

Denise Eldemire-Shearer, Professor of Public Health and the Aged, says the cases which have come to light have been mainly anecdotal and not many persons have offered information.

Professor Eldemire-Shearer was responding to questions about the care of the elderly in Jamaica, during an RJR News Forum on Friday.

"I don't know that we have a system yet that really records the abuse, if it in fact exists. It is not an area that we have much information on. what we have is anecdotal … we really don’t get a lot of reports (as) older people tend to be very private and very protective of family and a lot of these things will not come to the surface," she said.

Professor Eldemire-Shearer added that while there is no formal system yet in place, reports of cases of abuse of the elderly should be made to the police.

In the meantime, Beverley Hall-Taylor, the Executive Director at the National Council for Senior Citizens is encouraging members of the public to care for their elderly relatives at home.

According to her, elderly persons usually cope far better in familiar environments.

"Most people love to stay home and we really don’t encourage taking them to a nursing home because they keep with the family structure, the community and friends. Taking them out of their home and putting them in a home they are lost, so we encourage person to let their relatives stay at home rather than sending them to a nursing home," said Mrs. Hall-Taylor, who was also speaking at the RJR's News Forum on Friday.