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I found this very disturbing. Also There was a video on this morning an elderly lady being ridiculed by a care nurse, caught on a hidden camera!!DISGUSTING!!

Last Updated: Monday, 13 March 2006, 00:04 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Call to protect vulnerable adults Elderly women were most likely to be abused Vulnerable adults need legislation to guard them from abuse, in line with children and domestic violence victims, says charity Action on Elder Abuse. Vulnerable adults include the elderly and people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. The charity found of 639 abuse cases in nine English local authorities over six months, more than half involved the elderly, and two-thirds involved women. The government said measures were planned to tackle the problem. Home abuse In previous research, Action on Elder Abuse had found there was no standard system which local authorities used when dealing with cases of abuse. It is only together that we can tackle this shame in our society Liam Byrne Care services minister In this latest research, nine authorities - Essex, Hertfordshire, Brent, Redbridge, Liverpool, Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire, Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset - were given a framework to work to. Just over 200 of the 639 cases related to abuse which had occurred in a person's own home, compared to 188 in care homes. In 116 cases, the person carrying out the abuse - usually physical in nature - was working in an institution, such as a nursing home or hospital. In the cases of the people who were abused at home, 65 involved a paid care worker, with abuse by family members other than a partner or carer making up the next largest group. Thirty-four cases involved the main family carer. However, of all 639 cases referred for investigation by local authorities, just five resulted in a criminal prosecution. 'Sickening' Action on Elder Abuse is now calling on the government to give abuse of vulnerable adults the same status as that of child protection and domestic violence. It also wants national data collection introduced, and reporting requirements where people are referred for protection measures. In addition, the charity wants performance measures so that the work agencies carry out can be assessed against standards. Daniel Blake, the report author, said: 'We applaud the measures that the government is introducing. This report highlights the desperate need for the protection of vulnerable adults David Congdon Mencap 'But there is still the fact that there is no legislation - and that is an anomaly when you look at the areas of child protection and domestic violence. 'We want to see equality for vulnerable adults.' Mr Blake said that, without legislation, authorities and agencies were not compelled to put measures in place which would protect vulnerable adults. David Congdon, of learning disability charity Mencap, said: 'This report highlights the desperate need for the protection of vulnerable adults from abuse. 'It is sickening to think that in the 21st Century people with a learning disability are still victims of such attacks. 'We support the report's calls for the abuse of vulnerable adults to be given the same status as that of child protection and domestic violence.' 'Enlist everyone' Care Services Minister Liam Byrne said: 'The results of this project are shocking - too many of our vulnerable and older people are being subjected to attacks or are harmed as a result of neglect, and too few people are being brought to justice for it. 'We are working on a range of measures to tackle abuse of vulnerable adults.' The government plans a committee of 'dignity guardians' - agencies and charities to advise on how best to protect the diginity of vulnerable people. There will also be a centralised vetting and barring system, registration of care workers and increased spot checks of care homes. But Mr Byrne added: 'It is only together that we can tackle this shame in our society and make abuse of our older and vulnerable people a thing of the past.'

I also find this very disturbing. My son is a carer in a residential home for the elderly and I am always asking him if the old people are happy there and if everything is ok. He assures me it is and I know I have brought him up to be the kind of person that would report any kind of wrongdoing! Julie xxx

Hi Roxanne, It's a disgrace, such a betrayal of trust. My dad has carers who call at his house to help him morning and evening. We are very lucky because they are lovely but I was very concerned when they first began calling. I made sure I met all of them. Gwynne

Utterly despicable. :-(

The very reason i chose to care for my mother myself. then i know categorically she is not abused

I would only let my family care for me. God forbid i ever get too bad for them to cope. Think i'd finish it rather than have a total stranger look after me. Some heartless folk out there to be sure.

I agree with Gwynne. There are some lovely carers too. We have recently lost Mum but will be forever grateful to her carer, Wendy, who showed her such kindness and I know that Mum really looked forward to her visits. When you can't always be there each day, good carers are a Godsend. Abuse by anyone is unforgiveable. Gwyn

I know there are alot of very good carers, with compassion and lots of patience,I just find it so very sad that some of these people can be in these jobs that should not. Roxanne

Quoted this before Roxanne but it depressed me an awful lot, although pretty much a nothing in a wider world. When my mother was in a nursing home an old man kept ringing the bell to go to the toilet. No-one came and eventually a puddle appeared. This produced a 'carer' 'you dirty old bugger' she said. Probably worse went on in the days of Bedlam, but the above was a disgusting little episode from which fate I will hopefully be spared. Happy days

Julie, The test is would he be happy to put you in the home where he works if the need arose? My aunt and cousin both said they would never put my nan in the home they work at, instead they said they would move in with her rather than see nan lose her dignatty in a home. Sadly we lost nan last year so it will not become an issue now. LT

Hi Harry, Its so very sad, who knows what they will be like,I for one dont know, I hope i dont have to suffer at the hands of people like this. My grandmother had Alzheimers but luckily my mother took care of her until she died, it really upsets me when I hear of this. Roxanne x

It's so sad when people in the caring profession abuse or neglect people in their care but this is a minority & shouldn't put people off placing family in care if that's what's needed. the best thing we can do is to visit often and keep an eye on our relative's well-being. Not many of us want to put relatives in homes but there isn't always a choice - the level of care needed is often beyond the family and so many of the children of the oldest generation themselves aren't young and able enough to look after their loved ones full time, especially when they're suffering from the sorts of dementias that cause them to be violent or aggressive.

David, Very true! To be honest it really was a huge strain on my Mother, It was a very bad part of her life, very trying. I really dont know if I could have done it, I hope I could if it was needed , but never say never I say.

I was a care assistant in a nursing home for over 7 years and there were some good carers there, there are so many wonderful cares but the old few give them all a bad reputation. I have seen the case on the news and find the case disturbing and disgusting.

Did you see the secret footage on the News this evening? I was near to tears for that little old lady. How dare they, the b*stards.

Hi everyone it's a sick old world out there, it is going on all over the world!!! here in Australia there has been a case in Victoria of a 93 year old with dementia being raped in a nursing home by a male nurse, two co workers saw him but didn't report it.It was only found out when it was shown on the internet. My grandmother was in that nursing home during those years 1990's but she would have given them a whack with her walking stick (she didn't have dementia) very sick people, won't call them animals.

I am a Trustee of a Charity down here which looks after vulnerable people. We look after young people, people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and dual diagnosis, all in domestic environments. We have a refuge for women fleeing domestic violence, and we do home repairs for the elderly. As a Board we are committed to helping each individual to move forward, at their own pace, and all our Staff are fully trained and well supervised. We have a whistle-blowing policy, and an easy-access complaints and grievances procedure. I can guarantee that anyone abusing one of our service users will be dealt with swiftly and firmly. If only all Care Homes etc were Charitable instead of Commercial.

I work in sheltered housing so i am not a carer.I know all the carerers that come into our building and they are dedicated.If i have an elderly person that come cant out for coffee morning,i take the coffee to them. If anyone is not up to scratch and cant come into the dinning area for dinner i will take them, there dinner or collect them and return them in a wheelchair.The ones that cant get out at all i always go into for a 10 minute chat as i may be all they will see that day.They all tell me this is careing.I find this to be human.I have worked on a neuro centre where the majority was agency staff and i think that is where the problem lies. Annie

Jim, I think you have a very good point there.