Elderly feel squeeze

BY HAYDEN DONNELL

Paying her bills used to be a costly necessity for almost blind 88-year-old Ruth*.

Now it’s an impossibility because she can’t read and can no longer afford to pay someone to do it for her.

She is one of many North Shore elderly feeling the pinch as lower interest rates and rising food prices cut into their incomes.

They are having to shelve paid home help for tasks like shopping and cleaning to save cash.

That’s leading to increasing "self neglect", says Age Concern elder abuse prevention coordinator Jennie Michel.

"They may not be cleaning their houses, looking after themselves, maybe they’re not washing themselves.

"They’ve got rid of the care they got in their homes that allowed them to stay there."

Many North Shore elderly are reliant on interest from their long-term savings, which have been slashed in the recession.

That income cut has been coupled with a food price rise of about 10 percent last year.

It has left elderly searching for ways to cut expenses, with home help often first to face the axe, says Mrs Michel.

She has seen a sharp increase in the number of elderly calling her for help maintaining their health and homes.

The trend could leave them open to abuse because they turn to strangers rather than fully-trained workers for assistance, she says.

"We’ve just started to see in the last couple of weeks, the recession hitting the elderly," she says.

"They’re more vulnerable when they have to start asking strangers."

Elderly on middle or higher incomes have to pay for support with household tasks, while those with lower incomes qualify for free care.

But even those who qualify for free care are facing waits for assessment at Waitemata District Health Board, says Mrs Michel.

The service has been inundated with elderly referrals, leaving staff with high workloads, she says.

She wants more money aimed at services giving the elderly free help and medical care in their homes.

A health board statement says the needs assessments for home-based support team was "surprised" to hear of delays.

Of 14,500 assessments last year, 85 percent were done within three weeks and half within five days.

There is no waiting list and the service is geared so the highest needs elderly are seen first.

*Name changed to protect identity.

- © Fairfax NZ News