Dhanayshar: Homes for aged meet a need

WHILE abuses have been unearthed at old people's homes by a parliamentary committee that publicly met last week, the plain truth is these institutions meet a societal need, and the law and the oversight must now catch up with their existence, Dhanayshar Mahabir told Newsday.

He related his findings as a former Independent Senator who had chaired the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Social Services, which last week found many homes were unregistered and sometimes unsuitable. In one home, the aged are mixed with mental patients decanted from St Ann’s Hospital, the JSC heard. An inspector from the Division of Ageing lamented her powerlessness under the law to intervene.

Newsday asked Mahabir how such an unregulated mushrooming of homes had come about, and who has the power to intervene in any irregularities.

He preferred to deal with the realities at this point in time.

“The problem is not whether they are unlicensed, but whether they are complying with minimum standards,” Mahabir said.

He explained that as this country has an ageing population, many small old folks' homes had simply grown on their own to meet a demand. However, largely owing to this country’s lack of any policy on ageing, they had existed outside the remit of any formal rules or regulations.

“Many were unlicensed, but discharged an essential service.”

Mahabir said given these realities, what is now needed is not so much formal licensing but ground-level inspections to see if what is provided is up to mark.

“Once the home complies, you give then a licence to operate. The authorities need to inspect and bring them up to standard.”

Saying some homes may need assistance to add amenities such as a wheelchair ramp, alarms systems or recreational spaces, he said, “Maybe we could offer them a soft loan facility by the State.”

Mahabir said that coupled with the phenomenon of an ageing population is a shift in TT from a focus on the extended family to the nuclear family (with the implication that aged relatives are shunted off to old people's homes.)

“The private sector is taking up the slack, or the burden on the State, in providing these facilities,” he explained.

Mahabir still thought these homes should be set up in line with standards such as a minimum staff-to-patient ratio, and patients being allowed to access facilities like television and telephone contact. “We are getting there. I think the Government is working very hard. It’ll take some time.”

He said the Health Ministry has a responsibility to inspect the homes, while the Ministry of Social Development has administrative responsibility.

Mahabir said an inspector in the former ministry has no authority to shut an errant geriatric home, but must get her permanent secretary to liaise with that of the latter ministry, then both make recommendations to each of their respective ministers.

“The Ministry of Public Administration should have a responsibility to clear any jam between the two ministries in communicating with each other. It should be a liaison ministry.”