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Ealing Council highlights the issue of elder abuse

Sat 18 Jun 2016
Ealing Council and its partners showed their support for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by holding an event to raise awareness of the issue.

Older residents were invited to the tea party and afternoon of entertainment at Ealing Town Hall on Friday, 10 June ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June. Partners including the police, London Fire Brigade, Dementia Concern and Ealing Carers’ Centre had information stalls there.

Among the speakers was Dennis Davies, who spoke about an incident in a care home where he used to live. Mr Davies intervened when he saw a carer on the dementia unit speaking to another resident in an inappropriate way. The following day he received an apology from the staff member who acknowledged that Mr Davies right. He told the audience at Friday’s event: “Raised voices and disdain for others solves nothing. To me, dignified means that I am treated with respect as an adult.”

Elder abuse can take many forms such as someone who looks after an older person’s money using it inappropriately; someone ignoring an older person who needs help or verbally abusing them.

An average of 800 cases of alleged abuses of older people are reported in Ealing every year, including physical abuse, neglect and fraud. It is suspected that many more incidents go unreported.

Councillor Hitesh Tailor, cabinet member for health and adult services said: "No one should have to suffer in silence. Older people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and any abuse is completely unacceptable."

"Sometimes victims are too scared or too proud to speak out or may not even recognise that they are being taken advantage of. Stopping elder abuse is everyone’s business and I recently have stepped in to protect someone from online fraud. I would urge anyone who suspects that someone they know is being abused to report it."

If anyone has concerns that a resident could be a victim of elder abuse they should call Ealing Council’s social care contact centre on 020 8825 8000 or email sscallcentre@ealing.gov.uk
In an emergency call the police on 999.

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