Well over half (58 per cent) of professional nurses have admitted they wouldn't report abuse of an older person in their care for fear of misinterpreting the situation. Two thirds say that responsibility for too many patients prevents them from giving the best possible care, according to a major new survey carried out for Help the Aged.

The survey, conducted for Help the Aged among 848 readers of leading healthcare publications, Nursing Standard and Nursing Older People, reveals that 68 per cent of nurses admit that lack of training in how to deal with elder abuse is a barrier to properly caring for vulnerable adults. With this in mind, one in nine nurses polled admitted they wouldn't feel happy for their own parents or older relatives to be treated at their place of work.

39 per cent said they would find it difficult to discuss concerns about abuse with the older person concerned, with over a quarter (26 per cent) saying that fear of confrontation by the abuser would prevent them reporting suspected abuse.

A fifth of respondents (21 per cent) were still unaware of policies in their workplace for the protection of vulnerable adults or whistle-blowing.

Jean Gould, legal policy officer for Help the Aged, said:

"Elder abuse is a widespread problem but one which can be tackled by better public and professional awareness. All front-line staff should be receiving training in identifying and recognising signs of elder abuse but as this research shows, many have to do their jobs without it.

"Nurses are clearly lacking the proper support they need to be able to protect vulnerable adults in their care. Training in elder abuse for nurses must be mandatory, together with a legal requirement for protocols to ensure that all professionals respond confidently and take effective action as quickly as possible."

Other key findings from the Nursing Standard survey include:

-- Nearly a half of respondents (43 per cent) had not received any elder abuse training;
-- One in five (21 per cent) of the respondents who said they had actually received elder abuse training were not satisfied with it;
-- 23 per cent of respondents would be prevented from reporting abuse for fear of upsetting or embarrassing the older person concerned;
-- 76 per cent said they would benefit from greater support and more training in dealing with elder abuse.

Jean Gould concludes;

"It is a national disgrace that we sit back while thousands of older people are abused every day. We are reassured that the Government has finally committed to review the current guidance on the protection of vulnerable adults. But until we bring elder abuse firmly out of the shadows, we are sending a message to perpetrators that it is fine to take advantage of older, vulnerable adults. All frontline professionals must be given thorough training as a matter of priority. Without it, potential new cases of abuse will go unnoticed and older people will be left at even greater risk."

As part of its ongoing 'Enough is Enough' campaign to tackle elder abuse, Help the Aged is urgently calling for reform of the current legal framework to ensure that all relevant health and social care agencies have a legal obligation to act, that they have clear referral pathways and that mandatory training for all front line staff is enforced.

More facts, stats and campaign information can be found at helptheaged

Methodology and sample:

Self completion questionnaires were inserted into the June 13th 2007 issue of Nursing Standard and June 2007 issue of Nursing Older People. The questionnaire was also available for respondents to complete online.

About the respondents:

- 45 per cent of respondents work for the NHS
- 21 per cent work in the independent sector
- 20 per cent in NHS community nursing
- 42.5 per cent specialise in adult nursing
- 27 per cent specialise in nursing older people

Respondents were made up largely of the following:

- Staff nurses
- Nurse Managers/Consultant nurses
- Care home nurses

Latest statistics, according to a one year prevalence study, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and Kings College London for Comic Relief, show that:

-- 342,000 older people living in private households are subject to some form of mistreatment every year in the UK;
-- This does not take into account abuse which occurs in hospitals or nursing/residential care homes;
-- The predominant form of mistreatment reported within the one year stuffy for Comic Relief was neglect, followed by financial abuse. Other forms of abuse include psychological, physical and sexual;
-- 51 per cent of mistreatment in the past year involved a spouse/partner, 49 per cent another family member, 13 per cent a care worker and 5 per cent a close friend.

The term 'mistreatment' covers five types of abuse:

Neglect - e.g. repeated failure of the designated care giver to provide help with personal care and day to day activities;
Financial abuse - e.g. theft, fraud, misuse of power of attorney;
Psychological abuse - e.g. - persistent insults and threats;
Physical abuse - e.g. - physical violence, physical restraint, over-medication;
Sexual abuse - e.g. - verbal harassment, touching in a sexual way or intercourse without consent.

helptheaged