Research needed on ‘granny syndrome’

Press, 28 December 1987, Page 3

Research needed on ‘granny syndrome’

By CHRISTOPHER MOORE Unreported and unresearcbed abuse of the elderly remains a hidden reality in New Zealand society, according to a senior staff member at Christchurch’s Sunnyside Hospital. The hospital’s acting senior supervisor, Mr David Long, has warned against complacency about abuse of the elderly in an article in the December edition of the “New Zealand Nursing Journal.” “There is nothing to lead those of us who work in the areas of care for the elderly to believe that our elderly people are any less at risk or in need of protection than in any other country,” he said. But a lack of comprehensive research meant that the full extent of such abuse remained uncertain. Old age is traditionally regarded as a time of peace, security and calm enjoyment of life. But the shadow of abuse of the elderly in its various forms continued to affect individual members of the community. In Britain it had been described as the “battered grannie” syndrome. In the United States, the majority of states require a nurse to report suspected cases of abuse. Failure to report abuse of the elderly can result in a court prosecution. In New Zealand, health professionals and social workers can only rely on the small amount of research and

information available about a problem which the community often appears reluctant to admit occurs. The bulk of information comes from the United States; material which often contains little relevance to New Zealand. In New Zealand, abuse and neglect of the elderly was rarely mentioned except among those working with the elderly or involved with their care, Mr Long said. During a recent meeting organised by the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Nurses Association’s gerontological special interest group, one speaker suggested that abuse of the elderly was not a new phenomenon in New Zealand, but a hidden fact of community life. The meeting was also told how the medical profession could neglect elderly patients by failing to visit, prescribing without visiting older patients, or failing to pay proper attention to elderly patients’ comments. , Other speakers referred to the strains and Realities of caring for elderly relatives in ‘family homes not designed to house two generations. Physical abuse could involve non-accidental injuries — bruises, fractures, cuts and rope burns caused through the use of restraints. Psychological abuse included verbal abuse and threats, social isolation and belittling. Other elderly people suffered from the removal of resources without their consent.