Private, church-run homes for the elderly fall behind

Government homes tend to outperform private and church-run institutions in provision of health services, and even friendliness of staff and the general environment

14% of old people’s homes do not allow their residents to lock their room, an audit of 37 homes for the elderly conducted by the Office of the Commissioner for Mental Health and Older Persons has revealed.

16% of these homes do not let the elderly take their own medication, even though they are capable of doing so, commissioner John Cachia said in his report.

But his greatest criticism was left for the way old people’s independence was being taken over by these institutions.

While all homes were meeting the health and dietary needs of residents, some homes were crippling the autonomy of residents. “It is felt that once individuals enter an old people’s home, they tend to lose their autonomy and independence.”

Cachia said it was managers of the homes that were partly to blame, “as they tend to feel responsible for the residents in all aspects of life.”

Cachia said this overprotective attitude could result in individuals losing the faculty to take simple decisions concerning themselves “even though they are capable of doing so”.

The report concluded that the present set-up of old people’s home was not conducive to privacy or autonomy.

“Sharing a room with a complete stranger can be quite traumatic and the fact that most of the day-to-day decisions are taken by other persons does not enhance autonomy,” Cachia said.

Improving the set-up of homes and making the residents feel part of the decision-making process would ensure that their needs and wishes are met to the satisfaction of both management and client.

The report also reveals that publicly-owned homes tend to outperform private and church-run institutions in both traditional aspects of care, like provision of health services, and non-tangible care like friendliness of staff and the general environment.

Private homes only get a mean score of 56% in a ranking system the Commission produced, based on a questionnaire and visits to the 37 homes for the elderly.

The report proposes a ‘star’ or ‘label’ system to recognize the achievement of non-obligatory standards by the licensees and, at the same time, offer simple and reliable guidance to potential clients and their families.

Needs of non-Catholics

Only a fifth of residences for elderly people consider the need to provide special prayer areas for residents who are not Roman Catholic.

According to the report the provision of special prayer areas for residents of other faiths is not given due importance because to date most of the homes have not come across such requests. 

“However, homes need to be more aware that such requests are likely to arise sooner rather than later and need to plan how to tackle any such eventualities,” the report stated.

The report notes the vast majority of residents in all homes attend mass and religious activities.

General environment found lacking

While all healthcare needs were satisfied by all homes, the general environment of a number of homes was found to be lacking.

One-sixth of the homes failed to attain 50% of the allotted points. “This is cause for concern as we believe that the general environment of the home contributes considerably to the well-being of the resident.”

It was noted that homes built purposely to serve as residential homes were more likely to score highly in this category. 

Written agreements

The report also recommends that prior to admission, a written agreement should be entered into between the home and the resident that clearly defines the responsibilities and obligations of the two parties.

Presently, 60% of the homes have a formal written agreement signed between the home and the resident stating the rights and obligations of both the service provider and the resident.

All homes, with very few exceptions, provide the opportunity for their residents to receive relatives in private, to make private phone calls and to have lockable space.