N.Z. elderly abused, say doctors

Press, 15 February 1989, Page 5

N.Z. elderly abused, say doctors

By

DEBORAH McPHERSON

Domestic abuse of the elderly was happening but was difficult to monitor, said two New Zealand authors on the subject in Christchurch on Monday evening.

Abuse could occur in many settings, whether in their own house, in aged people’s homes or private hospitals, said Dr Margaret Guthrie. Dr Guthrie was guest speaker at a meeting of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Gerontology Association. Dr Guthrie is co-author with Dr Bernie King of a Health Department paper on the care, miscare and abuse of the elderly. Dr King was presnt at the meeting which was attended by nearly 50 health-care professionals. The paper, published last year, said that domestic abuse of the elderly, sometimes described as

“granny bashing” did occur, but it was hard to assess the level of abuse, because it was difficult to document. Abuse was not always physical. Psychological abuse was also evident and Dr King said this was a serious problem. Domestic abuse of the elderly, like much other abuse, was a pattern of behaviour that had developed over the years and through different generations, said Dr King. “The elderly may not always see themselves as being abused,” she said. Instances of abuse had occurred in hospitals or aged people’s homes, so it was important to recog-

nise that regulations and their administration could always be improved, said Dr Guthrie. The senior lecturer in geriatric medicine at the Christchurch Clinical School of Medicine, Dr Richard Sainsbury, said he had seen three cases of physical abuse of the elderly in the last month. He agreed it was probably the “tip of the iceberg.” Elderly people were the “Cinderella group” through lack of Government funding. Cuts in funding could lead to shortcuts in care that might put elderly people at more risk of being abused, said Dr Sainsbury.