Illegal OAP homes must clean up

MORE than 200 retirement homes that are operating illegally could be shut down if they do not get their affairs in order by March 31.

The minister for elderly people, Nora Berra, made the threat after an investigation found the homes were housing elderly people classed as “dependent” without having the required official authorisation.

It was carried out following investigations into abuse at a home in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Ms Berra said the homes were potentially putting elderly people at risk.

They must either make the correct agreements with the state and meet standards including having nurses among the staff, or face closure.

However the minister has decided not to make public a list of the homes.

The minister has also announced measures to avoid abuse of elderly people, including a new grading system for homes. She has formed a partnership with Anesm, a national standards body, to work out new evaluation criteria on arrangements for preventing abuse in homes.

These grades will be published on the internet to help make the choice of homes more “transparent” for families, she said.

Other anti-abuse measures include:

- Publishing a new guide to preventing abuse
- Ensuring that there is a module on abuse in the training of professional carers
- Better follow-up of calls to the 3977 helpline for elderly people who are being abused
- Short training courses for family members who care for the elderly, similar to those being offered for carers of Alzheimer’s patients (see article below), to avoid abuse at home
- A review of the way care for the elderly is administered, with a view to simplifying the layers of authorities involved and decentralising
- Tougher civil and criminal penalties for abuse of the elderly

The AD-PA, which represents bosses of retirement homes and services for care at home, and private care homes union Synerpa have criticised the fact that no new funding has been announced towards the improvement goals except for the training for family carers,