By Sharmain GraingerChristmas is described by many as a joyous time of year. In fact it is usually characterised byChief Medical Social Worker, Marcia Fredericksfamilies being especially loving and caring towards each other. But this may not be true for all families.In fact, it has been proven that when this purportedly joyous time of year nears, an increasing number of elders are unceremoniously removed from their homes and are never accepted back.This, to some people, may seem a development too outrageous to believe, but one visit to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and you are likely to become a believer.These elders are essentially abandoned at the GPHC sometimes for no logical reason. This state of affairs is one that the administrators of the public hospital have been battling with for a number of years. This is in light of the fact that a number of much needed beds are occupied by these elders that could be better used by actual sick people.The abandonment process is a rather simple one and in the initial stage may not even be recognised. It can translate to a relative bringing an elder to the Accident and Emergency Unit for medical attention. The relative in question is not mandated to leave any information about him or herself, and added to this, they do not have to be precise in giving the address or name of next of kin of the elder being admitted.Some elders are admitted with conditions as simple as the common cold. But there are others who, reports suggest, are deliberately left to become dehydrated, so that medical practitioners can find a reason to admit them.Oftentimes admission is not even warranted, but this is required, since after treatment there is no one around to return the elders – some of whom are incapacitated – to their homes.With no address or next of kin to work with, the hospital usually hasn’t a choice but to admit the elder who has to be attended to.Currently, there are just about seven elders who have essentially taken up residence at the GPHC. Some of them have no known family members, others are from families who have out-rightly said they do not wish to have them back, and then there are the others who feel they are much better off at the hospital than with family members anyway.Medical Social Worker, Clayton NewmanThe hospital is therefore tasked with providing medical care, food and sometimes clothing for some of these admitted people.Social Workers at the GPHC are the ones who are usually left to find a solution to this dilemma. It is described as a dilemma because the hospital has to afford space to these persons sometimes at the cost of having to deal with an overcrowding situation.But once discharged, a Social Worker is tasked with finding the next of kin of these abandoned individuals, even if that information was not volunteered. This, however, is a process that sometimes warrants a great deal of investigation.And it has been no easy task to find a next of kin; sometimes the very offspring of the elders simply reject them.Chief Medical Social Worker, Ms. Marcia Fredericks, has seen this one too many times over the course of her more than two-decade employment – first as a nurse, then a Social Worker, at the GPHC.The emotional impact is harsh on this evidently caring Social Worker who spends many of her days struggling to find a relative who would be willing to help take care of an abandoned elder. Sometimes she literally finds none and has to resort to finding that elder a place at a government-run institution such as the Palms Geriatric Home.But the Palms, for instance, can only accommodate so many, and there are times when elders may not even qualify to be accepted. According to Fredericks, she would mainly look to the Palms for help if it is found that an elder hasn’t any children or a very small family unit that seems incapable of taking care of the elder in question.But Fredericks during a recent interview with this publication shared her conviction that the family structure of today is not remotely what it was yesteryear. She is of the opinion that some family members are simply not compassionate to their own when they become a certain age.This has therefore resulted, Fredericks noted, in Social Workers diverting from their normal practice of social work to instead be advocates for elders, so that they can be accepted back into their families. This, of course, doesn’t always go as expected, as sometimes the voice of reason has to be a stern one.According to Fredericks, “We are not getting to do our work – the real counselling and guidance…We are supposed to be loving and compassionate, but instead we have to be aggressive towards people, and this is not fair to us to have to beg people to take back their elderly relatives so that we can free up space for other patients…it is not fair to these elders too.”What Fredericks has found particularly interesting is the fact that while admitted, some of these elders, on occasions, are visited by family members who, when they are informed of a discharge date, never return. “From the time some of them hear that there are plans to discharge they just disappear, and I am not exaggerating,” said Fredericks, who is currently trying to find a home for two elderly women who have been discharged but have been abandoned at the GPHC.Sixty-six year-old Madhuri John whose address was found to be 17 Industry Front Road, East Coast Demerara was admitted in the month of August with diabetes complications. Although she was up for discharge the very month she is presently a resident of the Female Medical Ward. Her next of kin was found to be her son, Wazir Ali, and a niece by the name of Anita Persaud.Abandoned also is 74-year Lynette Stoll whose last known address is I 34-848 Jackson Street, Tucville, Georgetown. She was admitted with a fractured hip on October 4 and was slated to be discharged since October 12. However, she is currently a resident of the Female Surgical Ward. Stoll’s next of kin was found to be her sons Paul Stoll, and Peter Negeer who reportedly reside in the United States. She had also previously lived with a brother by the name of Denzil Stoll.In both cases, family members have stated their unwillingness to accept the seniors into their homes.Based on her investigations, Fredericks said that it is most upsetting to find that in some cases family members who are unwilling to care for these abandoned individuals have been very willing to collect their pensions and other financial benefits. Added to this, they readily present themselves when these individuals die to uplift their death certificates so that they can claim property and other valuables. Moreover, the social work practiced at the GPHC sometimes extends to helping to put measures in place to help safeguard the assets of these abandoned elders.Clayton Newman,Wholesale Jerseys, another Medical Social Worker, has also been tirelessly trying to find placement for a number of patients who have long been discharged, but have remained residents at the GPHC.He has been busy in recent months trying to find placement for four patients who have also taken up residence on the Male Surgical Block. They are: 65-year-old Gewand Mangal, who was admitted on July 4 with a limb fracture and lower respiratory tract infection, and was to be discharged on July 7; 53-yearold Mark Nurse who was admitted on July 16 with generalised weakness and was to be discharged on July 25; 63-year-old Glaston Barnwell who was admitted on July 18 with a fractured hand and was to be discharged on July 25, and 60-year-old George Holder who was admitted on July 26 with an open fracture to his head and was to be discharged on August 18.On the Male Medical Block there is yet another patient, 44-year-old Ronald Devonish, who has taken up residence. He was admitted at the GPHC since May 27 and was scheduled for discharge on June 20.While no family members have been located for some of these ‘residents’, some of them have opted to remain in the care of the hospital despite being discharged, simply because they like it there. At least three of them have been recorded as residents of the Night Shelter in the past, but are unwilling to return there.“I always say that these patients see the GPHC as a four-star hotel that offers three squares (meals) and plenty of attention,” said Newman, as he stressed the need for better systems to be put in place for such patients to either be accepted by family members or for them to be appropriately institutionalised.But as the year comes to an end, the Social Workers are already preparing to see the process of abandonment of elderly persons continue at the GPHC since this has, over the years, become a regular feature. But Fredericks is adamant that this should not be the case if persons would seek to use the love associated with the Christmas season to embrace and accommodate their elderly family members rather than abandon them.
