ABUSE of older people

There have been two widely reported criminal cases where informal carers, including family members, have been found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of the vulnerable person in their care. In this article, Richard Griffith considers the duty on informal carers when caring for a person and the duty on district nurses to protect vulnerable persons from harm. 

Background: Elder mistreatment is a well-recognized public health issue with complex underlying factors. The current study hypothesized that there is no effect of any of the following factors on any type of elder mistreatment: ethnicity, age group, education status, gender, living arrangement, concentration problems, medication for any disease, income level of caregiver, use of alcohol and tobacco products, and dependence on family or caregivers for daily activities.