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Ensuring a good life for the elderly should also cater for those who will have to provide care for them
DEAR EDITOR,
The story “Families continue to abandon elderly relatives at G/town Hospital” in KN 31 July, 2019 is another in a series of media articles which highlight the abuse and neglect of the elderly, most times by family members. The Guyana Chronicle of March 3, 2019 had a story “Abuse of the elderly a worry for healthcare professionals” which detailed the observations of health care professionals as they attended to elderly patients.
The trouble with these stories, is that they are not looking at the inability of many people in Guyana to look after the elderly. Guyana has an aging population, and, for many persons, the medical industry has managed to prolong life while not always ensuring quality of life, or in which the quality of life declines, and living is associated with intense suffering.
Guyana has recognised that many families cannot look after children, and has put systems in place for state intervention. There is legislation for child protection and the agencies offer some support for parents.
What is not talked about in Guyana, is that many people are struggling with looking after the elderly. There are no geriatricians in Guyana. Houses and bathrooms have not been designed for easy access. There is no discussion about Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and what support is available for coping. Wheelchairs, walkers, commodes, transportation, quality support home care, redesigned accessible housing, are not easily available or are expensive.
Physiotherapists are in short supply. Not everyone has the emotional intelligence to be a nurse.
While there are many saints who happily look after their elderly relatives and who have been blessed, there are many “sinners” who are overwhelmed, who are struggling with the financial problems, with the breakdown in social ties and family ties, as people do not want to be burdened with the problems of constipation and pain and diet and shouting and lack of communication, with the economic hardships and with their own inability to look after their own children. Who cares for the caregivers who are finding it hard?
The ‘abandonment’ at the hospital is the caregiver who cannot cope, trying to find respite and help. The solution is not to force or reintegrate elderly patients with caregivers who do not have the capacity or the means to care. The solution is not for the health care professionals who suspect abuse to send the patients back home to the risky environment without some kind of intervention.
The public health system and the social services are overwhelmed with many needs. It is time now, however, that when the health professionals and social workers are checking on their elderly patients, they should also be checking and paying attention to the health and well-being of the caregivers. Ensuring a good life for the elderly, also means ensuring a good life for those who will have to provide care for them.
Yours sincerely,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
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