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Abuse Fear for 25,000 elderly people

As many as 25,000 older people in Wales could be suffering abuse, a seminar at Cardiff University Law school has heard.

Ana Palazón, Director of Help the Aged in Wales, said: “We estimate that as many as 25,000 older people in Wales could be suffering elder abuse, but the very nature of this problem – where people can often be too afraid to report that they are being abused - makes it difficult to know for certain how widespread the problem actually is.”

Robert Taylor, Age Concern Cymru Chief Executive, said: “Many of us will find it difficult to get our heads around the idea that elder abuse is a fact of life for many older people in modern Wales, but elder abuse does happen, and it happens every day on our doorsteps in communities right across Wales. We cannot allow this to continue.

“We’ve organised this seminar to inform our work in this area and so that together we can influence the development of adult protection policies for Wales and consign elder abuse to the pages of history.”

The seminar brought together an all-Wales panel of experts to test expert opinion on whether new legislation is the answer.

Organised by Help the Aged in Wales and Age Concern Cymru, the seminar, also attended by Ruth Marks, the Commissioner for Older People in Wales, involved workshops and presentations on issues such as the effectiveness of current legislation in protecting older people.