Apathy inside elderly peoples’ home shocks Caruana

“I was shocked by the apathy and lackadaisical attitude in many old peoples’ homes and centres,” parliamentary secretary for the elderly Justyne Caruana told MaltaToday over surprise visits she conducted, after launching a complaints system for elderly patients and their relatives.

The Gozitan lawyer, who replaced Franco Mercieca as junior minister responsible for the elderly, carried out personal, surprise visits on homes for the elderly, as well as residences for disabled individuals.

She said the visits had been sporadic and without prior notice, and that some had taken place this week.

Many staff members had informed her directly of the problems that many patients faced with daily care. “We make it a point to investigate a complaint but making a physical presence on the spot is a must. We have made specific raids on food quality,” Caruana said.

Indeed at St Vincent de Paul government home the canteens had been closed for some time after the complaints were seen to be justified.

Caruana said that specific complaints about staff members’ engagement with the elderly had led to government officials interviewing residents, individually. She expressed serious concern about the level of care in some homes.

“A constant concern is the physical state of the old people’s homes and we have engaged architects to come up with a maintenance programme for the homes.”

She said that there had been improvements in the sector. “We have set up an email address and freephone to collect complaints about the state of the residential homes and the care of the elderly. But we are sure that there are unfounded grievances, and that is why we have to investigate each and every claim.”

Residents at homes for the elderly, both government- and those which are privately-run, have been allotted a freephone number to contact whenever they have a complaint to make.

The number is 80072367.

The Health Directorate is empowered by law to inspect homes for the elderly to check about residents’ complaints.

Are your relatives being cared for?
Are your elderly relatives being cared for?

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