Nurses Loth To Report Abuse Of The Elderly

More than half of nurses would not report the abuse of an elderly person in their care, according to a survey published today.

The poll of NHS and private sector nurses, conducted for Help the Aged, found that a lack of training, heavy workloads and fear of confrontation or of upsetting the victim all prevent nurses taking action.

The findings come amid growing evidence that elder abuse is a widespread problem in families, care homes and hospitals.

A study by the National Centre for Social Research and Kings College London suggested that 342,000 older people living in private households are subject to some form of mistreatment every year in the UK.

A report by the parliamentary joint committee on human rights this month highlighted significant levels of abuse and neglect suffered by older people in care homes and hospitals.

Its latest study, based on 848 responses from readers of Nursing Standard and Nursing Older people, found that 58% of nurses would not report abuse of an older person because they fear having got it wrong. The poll revealed that 68% of nurses felt a lack of training in how to deal with elder abuse was a barrier to them providing decent care.

A Department of Health spokesman said the government was determined to root out abuse of the vulnerable and elderly.