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During my 16 years in England, I spent three years (1995-98) caring for elderly people suffering from advanced dementia. Living with clients’ in their respective homes and working long hours to look after them, I found myself surprised by how few checks are in place to discourage and prevent carers from neglecting and abusing clients.

Specifically, both of my live-in assignments (one three months the other nine months) were characterized by infrequent visits and telephone calls from family, health professionals and from my own employment agency supervisor. All visits, meanwhile, were confirmed days in advance. And I was startled to discover also that my agency didn’t require me to undergo a police check before it placed me in my first assignment.

As such, I personally am unsurprised that elder abuse and neglect is increasingly in the news. Elderly people under care are much more vulnerable than most of us realize – especially when you consider how confused dementia leaves its victims, and how poorly paid care work tends to be. The stories we read are probably only the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps we ought to think twice before we outsource our elderly loved ones to people who don’t necessarily love them?

Raising awareness

I recently self-published The Carer, the first novel to tackle elder abuse. You can buy The Carer for USD0.99 from Amazon and all other major ebook retailers.