Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-07-Speech-2-620"
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"en.20100907.35.2-620"2
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"Madam President, the reason for putting this oral question and resolution on the agenda is to try to achieve an EU-wide code of conduct on long-term care for older people. I am not talking about legislation here, but an exchange of best practice between Member States.
Many Member States have cut back on specialist geriatric medicine and we need to know what the real effects have been on older people. We must not forget, either, the support and recognition that informal carers need. Quite often, they are the ones who care for their relatives day in, day out, with little help.
The whole area of long-term care for older people has been ignored for many years. I hope, with this oral question and resolution, that all of us together can start to really give this matter the attention it deserves. Quite often, older people who require long-term care find it very difficult to speak for themselves. It is up to us all, working with them, to make sure their voices are heard and not forgotten.
For too long, the treatment of older people has been inadequate in many areas. We need to know, first and foremost, what data the Commission already has on the provision of care in Member States. Does the Commission see itself playing a role in the dissemination of best practice?
A key area I have been concerned with for a number of years is elder abuse. It can take many forms – physical, mental, emotional and financial. Take the case of a 93-year-old woman who went into a care home for respite care for one week, one week only, only for her to return home completely dehydrated; obviously, no attempt had been made to help her to drink at all.
This is not an isolated case. There are many cases of malnutrition and dehydration, but it would be useful if we could have facts and figures. Has the Commission got any data on the number of deaths attributable to dehydration or malnutrition?
Just as worrying, of course, is the more frequent use of Do Not Resuscitate orders. It should be up to the medical practitioner, in consultation with the patient, to decide on whether DNR should be on someone’s notes. I know of cases where either the nursing home itself decides which person is to be resuscitated or not, or the relatives are told that they must sign up to the document, which is a complete abuse of the person’s right to choose.
What is the Commission doing to look at the use of so-called Do Not Resuscitate orders? I am not talking about living wills here, I am talking about Do Not Resuscitate orders. Does the Commission agree that it violates the right to life under Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights?
I am pleased that the World Health Organisation has adopted a broad definition of elder abuse. We need now at EU level to clarify the extent of that abuse. I hope that the Commission will bring forward a Green Paper on elder abuse; I know that the Commissioner has talked about that himself.
Over-prescription of medication, particularly anti-psychotic drugs, is also abuse. Quite often, they are used for the benefit of the staff, not for the resident in a care home. Also, conversely, older people are denied medical treatment on the grounds of age alone. This is another reason why I believe pressure should be put on the Council for a decision on the equal treatment directive to outlaw discrimination in access to goods and services, and that would include healthcare.
More must be done as well by each Member State to make sure that older people can be supported in their own homes if that is what they wish, and to regulate qualification requirements for people caring for older people, with adequate training mechanisms in place."@en1
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