A concerned resident of St Barnabas, Mary Gibson, showing the deplorable living conditions of Hutson Yarde.
A Government Senator is calling for more day-care centres for the elderly.
“I am very concerned with leaving the elderly alone at home,” expressed Senator Rev. Dr. David Durant.
“What happens if there is a fire or some natural disaster and they can’t help themselves, especially when their families locked them inside the house”.
Observing that Barbados has an ageing population, Senator Durant pointed out that currently the population 65 years and over is above the 15 percent mark, and in another nine years or so, will be over 20 percent.
He said such facilities help to ease the burden of adult children while the elderly could socialise, which was important for their well-being. In fact, he believes that the elderly’s involvement in such an environment could see them age better.
“Those in the day care setting interact with the other elderly people, they get involved in games, exercise and enjoy their meals together – the more family oriented situation we can put the elderly in the better for them – they even age better”.
“Right now, the Jorris Dunner Elderly Day Care Center is doing great. Families bring them on mornings at 7. 30 am and pick them back up by 5 pm – they are very happy with this. That facility is almost full,” he said, noting the need for three or four more of these centres across the island.
“It is safer than leaving them alone at home,” he stressed.
Senator Durant, who is the Chairman of the National Assistance Board (NAB), made the call upon the discovery of another elderly man living in deployable conditions.
He said about two months he was informed about the situation, and NAB responded immediately, sending the Board’s welfare officials to make frequent checks.
NAB was also in the process of making new living arrangements for the retired Bridgetown Port worker, Hutson Yarde, when the 73-year-old St Barnabas, St Michael resident had to be rescued from a hole in the floor of his dilapidated wooden house. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and treated for injuries to his feet.
The Senator was saddened that they were unable to relocate Yarde before the unfortunate incident.
“The floor collapsed…There are a lot of rats and roaches. It’s nowhere for a man to live. We were working on getting him removed from here, but before that could happen we realised that he fell in, which I was afraid of happening”.
“I am going to make sure that he is placed in a home or the Geriatric Hospital…I dealt with a man in a similar situation recently and I had to remove him and he was relocated to Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village and apparently, no family was around, But, while at the home and he was settled, then his family started to appear. Where were they all the time when he was living in that condition? That’s what I can’t understand. So, I don’t know when Mr Yarde is taken to a safe environment, if we would see family appearing… This is not right,” he stressed.
“If you have elderly family and they are now weak and frail – they need our help. That is why we are trying to strengthen legislation to deal with situations like these, especially those who are coming to take their monthly cheques”. (TL)
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