VIDEO
A couple originally from Newry and the Midlands, found huddled together in a senior citizens complex in Dublin, died from hypothermia..
John “Little Elvis” Glennon and Debbie McEvoy were found dead in their Drumalee Court flat in Stoneybatter, Dublin, yesterday.
Dublin City Council owns the complex where 67-year-old Mr Glennon lived.
The pair were discovered huddled together on the bedroom floor are believed to have been dead for a number of days before they were found.
A postmortem revealed they died from hypothermia.
Temperatures in the city were minus 2.4C on Sunday morning. but relative to many other European cities thst is not particularly cold.
Mr Glennon originally from the midlands had lived in the flat for about eight years. Ms Evoy, 63, was a former nurse from Newry, Co Down. The pair were well known and well liked in the locality.
Age Action has urged older people to take the necessary steps to protect themselves from the cold in the wake of the tragic deaths.
“The cold can kill and does kill in Ireland, and older people must make themselves aware of the practical steps which they can take to remain well and warm in their homes during cold weather,” Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said. The older people’s charity extended its condolences to the family and friends of Mr Glennon and Ms McEvoy. Age Action is urging communities to keep in regular contact with their older neighbours and friends to ensure they have enough fuel and supplies, especially on frosty days when it may be unsafe to go out.
Abuse and Neglect of Older People in Ireland
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL STUDY OF ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT
National Centre for the Protection of Older People
UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Heath Systems
Health Sciences Centre
University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)1 716 6467 Fax: +353 (0)1 716 6498
Email: ncpop@ucd.ie Web: www.ncpop.ie
2010
Report on the National Study of Elder Abuse and Neglect
Summary
Social Support Characteristics of People
who Reported Mistreatment
Older people with poor levels of community support
were five times more likely to report mistreatment
compared to those with strong or moderate levels
of community support. Women with poor community
support were particularly vulnerable to interpersonal
and fi nancial abuse. People who reported poor or
moderate levels of family support were over three
times more likely to report mistreatment compared
to those with strong family support.
Perpetrator Characteristics
Older people who reported acts of mistreatment most
frequently identifi ed adult children as perpetrators (50%),
followed by other relatives (24%), and a spouse/partner
(20%) (Figure 5). Adult children were equally likely to
be implicated in fi nancial and interpersonal abuse,
while spouse/partners were more frequently involved in
interpersonal abuse. Those identifi ed as ‘other relatives’
were more likely to be involved in fi nancial abuse. People
aged between 30 and 64 years were most frequently
identifi ed as perpetrators of abuse, however younger
adults or teenagers and older adults (≥65 years) were
also identifi ed. Particular risk factors were living with the
perpetrator (37%), the perpetrator being unemployed
(51%) and the perpetrator abusing alcohol (19%).
Spouse/
Partner 20%
Friend 4% Home Help 2%
Other Relative
24%
Adult Child 50%
Spouse/
Partner
Friend 4%
Other Relative
24%
Adult Child 50%
Figure 5 Relationship between perpetrator
and older person
Impact of Mistreatment
The vast majority of older people who reported
mistreatment identifi ed physical and fi nancial abuse
as having a serious impact on their lives. Between 50%
and 58% of people who reported neglect or psychological
abuse also described the impact as serious, with the
remainder identifying the impact as moderate. When
clustering of mistreatment is taken into account, 84%
of this population felt their experiences of abuse or
neglect in the last 12 months had a serious impact on
them, with 14% describing the impact as moderate.
Over one third of participants did not report the abuse
or neglect to anyone. In the case of people who did
report mistreatment, other family members were the
most likely people to be told about the abuse (41%),
followed by a GP (11%). In 9% of cases the police were
told about the abuse. A quarter of those who reported
abuse stated that mistreatment was ongoing at the time
of the survey.
Mistreatment Since 65 Years
Broadening the definition of mistreatment to include
any episode of fi nancial, physical, sexual, psychological
abuse, or neglect since 65 years, perpetrated by a person
in a position of trust, the reporting of mistreatment nearly
doubled to 4%. This would indicate that since the age
of 65 years up to as many as 18,764 older people have
had experiences that were potentially abusive.
Examining the types of mistreatment using this broader
defi nition, a different pattern emerged compared to
the 12-month prevalence rate. Psychological abuse was
the most prevalent type of abuse at 2.4%, with nearly
double the number of people identifi ed. Financial abuse
was the second most common type of abuse at 1.4%,
but there was only a marginal increase compared to
the 12-month prevalence. Neglect was the third most
common type of mistreatment at 1.2%, and had the
largest increase in numbers of people identifi ed
compared to the 12-month prevalence. There was
a slight increase in physical abuse (0.7%), and
there remained a single episode of sexual abuse.
The prevalence of interpersonal abuse was 2.6%,
emphasising the clustering of these types of abuse.