Dubai: The beating of an elderly man by his helper which shocked the Emirati community has not gone unnoticed by authorities who are already working on ways to prevent similar incidents from happening in future.
In a previous statement, Mariam Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs, said that the ministry is working on a draft law to protect the rights of the elderly.
Gulf News also talked to an official from the Community Development Authority (CDA) about the incident that took place in Dibba, Al Fujairah earlier this week.
“This incident has affected the whole Emirati society, and we were shocked to learn of the case — previously we have seen cases where helpers take advantage of the elderly and neglect them, but never have we seen a case of physical abuse,” said Mariam Al Hamadi, Director of the Elderly Department at the CDA.
While many are busy with their fast pace jobs and family demands, Mariam said many families are compelled to hire a qualified helper or place their elderly family members who require full time attention and help in elderly homes.
“Some of these helpers are not fully qualified or educated to care for old people, and they carry out wrong methods of dealing with them,” she said.
Training
In light of previous cases of neglect by helpers, the CDA launched a training and educational programme in 2013 to teach helpers all the right skills and methods to take care of the elderly. The programme trained 63 helpers of which 49 completed their training and are now qualified helpers.
“Medical experts from different health authorities, along with social counsellors work together with the helpers to understand all areas of the job including the health and social side,” she explained.
Helpers need to have the skills to monitor the health of the elderly, manage their medications, control their diet and carry out social activities for them every day.
“The CDA and Dubai Police are also working together to help prevent such cases.”
Abdullah Rashid, an Emirati, told Gulf News that he was horrified by the incident. “When we hire a helper to take care of an elderly person in our family, we trust that they will treat them with a lot of care, respect, and consideration.”
Rashid, who runs his own business in Sharjah, pointed out the need to re-evaluate the qualifications and skills of those hired to help the elderly. “It must have been very difficult for his family to see the video — putting myself in their place makes me feel very angry,” said Rashid.
Nada Mohammad, 27, an Emirati government employee, said that the elderly are highly regarded in Emirati culture and this was very shocking to her.
“In our culture the house that has an elderly member is believed to be more blessed. Having them at home gives it a different feeling.”
Comfortable
She said that she believes what happened was negligence.
“When one hires someone to take care of their father or mother they have to ensure and check that that person is honest and observe their behaviour very carefully.” She added that one should make sure their parent is comfortable with their helper by asking them and checking on them daily.
“Some people let maids go simply because they are rude, so imagine a person who is taking care of your own parent, who is unable to take care of himself.” Nada said.
She said she believes it was better if the children sent their father to a home for the elderly, where the people are trained and specialise in caring for the elderly, instead of hiring an untrained helper.