Issues Around The Elderly And Mental Health Social Work Essay Essays

Issues Around The Elderly And Mental Health Social Work Essay Essays Issues Around The Elderly And Mental Health Social Work Essay Essay Issues Around The Elderly And Mental Health Social Work Essay Essay these people are now in their retirement old ages ( Summers Et Al, 2006 ) , and our population now contains larger per centum of older people that of all time. In society today elder people are going the fastest increasing population in the UK, National Statistics ( 2009 ) states that the population of the UK is ageing. Over the last 25 old ages the per centum of the population aged 65 and over increased from 15 per cent in 1983 to 16 per cent in 2008, an addition of 1.5 million people in this age group . Due to the addition of the ageing population we are now seeing emerging wellness and societal attention issues in our society. Many older people will be active, involved within the community, and independent of others. However, as you get older it is natural to see hurting, a diminution in mobility or mental consciousness. Mind ( 2010 ) states that the most common mental wellness jobs in older people are depression and dementedness. There is a widespread belief that these jobs are a natural portion of the ageing procedure, but this non the instance ; it can get down as early 40 but is more common in older people ( Royal college of Psychiatrists, 2009 ) , nevertheless, there merely 20 per cent of people over 85, and 5 per cent over 65, have dementia ; 10-15 per cent of people over 65 have depression ( Mind, 2010 ) . It is of import to retrieve that the bulk of older people remain in good mental wellness. Dementia chiefly affects older people, although it can impact younger people ; there are 15,000 people in the UK under the age of 65 who have dementia ( Alzheimer s society, 2010 ) . However, currently 700,000 or one individual in every 88 in the UK have dementia, incurring a annual cost of ?17bn, and the London School of Economics and Institute of Psychiatry research calculated that more that 1.7 m illion people will hold dementia by 2051 reported by BBC intelligence ( 2007 ) . The word dementedness comes from the Latin demens intending without a head . Mentions to dementia can be found in Roman medical texts and in the philosophical plants of Cicero. The term dementedness came into common use from the eighteenth Century when it had both clinical and legal intensions. Dementia implied a deficiency of competency and an inability to pull off one s ain personal businesss. Medical usage of the term dementedness evolved throughout the nineteenth century and was used to depict people whose mental disablements were secondary to get encephalon harm, normally degenerative and frequently associated with old age ( Kennard 2006 ) . From the twentieth century onwards scientific cognition was supplemented through the scrutiny of the encephalon and encephalon tissue which was founded and performed by a physician Alois Alzheimer ( Plontz, 2010 ) . The National service model ( Department of Health, 2001, p96 ) now defines dementia as a clinical syndrome characterised by a widespread loss of mental map . The term dementia is used to depict the symptoms that occur in a group of diseases that affect the normal on the job maps of the encephalon. This can take to a diminution of mental ability, impacting memory, thought, job resolution, concentration and perceptual experience, besides jobs with address and apprehension ( Mind, 2010 ) . Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will bit by bit acquire worse. How fast dementedness advancements will depend on the person. Each individual is alone and will see dementedness in their ain manner ( Alzheimer s society, 2010 ) . Symptoms of dementia include: Loss of memory, Mood alterations, and Communication jobs. In the ulterior phases of dementedness, the individual affected will hold jobs transporting out mundane undertakings, and will go progressively dependent on other people, two tierces of people with dementia live in the community while one 3rd live in a attention place ( Alzheimer s society, 2010 ) . There are many types of dem entedness, and some of the causes of dementedness are rarer than others, Alzheimer s disease is the most common cause, damaged tissue builds up in the encephalon to organize sedimentations called plaques and tangles , these cause the encephalon cells around them to decease ( Royal college of Psychiatrists, 2009 ) . Other most commonly known is vascular disease, Dementia with Lewy organic structures, Fronto-temporal dementedness. Largely, patients themselves do non show to the clinician with dementedness, owing to gradual oncoming and denial of the job. There is no remedy for dementedness but there is medicine that will assist to decelerate down the patterned advance of the disease. When happening aid for dementedness it is normally the primary carers, health professionals, protagonists, spouses or household members who initiate inquiring aid and a diagnosing ( Brodaty, 1990 ) . Depression may be misdiagnosed as dementedness the difference being that people who have depression are more likely to be cognizant of their issues therefore are able to discourse them, whereas person with dementedness may non be able to make this due to their symptoms. However, the Mental Capacity Act ( 2005 ) states that every individual has the right to do their ain determinations and must be assumed to hold capacity unless otherwise proven and people should be supported to do any determinations. Under the MCA, you are required to do an appraisal of capacity before transporting out any attention or intervention ( Office of the public defender, 2009 ) . The Mental capacity act is an act that protects single rights and ensures that the individual s autonomy is non taken. It is based on best pattern and creates a individual, consistent model for covering with mental capacity issues and an improved system for settling differences, covering with personal public assistance issues and th e belongings and personal businesss of people who lack capacity. It puts the person who lacks capacity at the bosom of determination devising and places a strong accent on back uping and enabling the person to do their ain determinations ( Office of the public defender, 2009 ) . However, even with a construction in topographic point to protect person s rights and autonomies many people who have dementia are more vulnerable to mistreat due to their deficiency of capacity. The University College London research revealed that a 3rd of carers admitted important maltreatment , in entire 115 carers reported at least some opprobrious behavior, and 74 reported more serious degrees of mistreatment ( Cooper et Al, 2009 ) . Health professionals can besides be on the having terminal of verbal or physical maltreatment directed at them by parents or partners who are confused and angry over worsening mental capacities due to stroke and Alzheimer s disease. In some instances, Alzheimer s disease or other signifiers of dementedness may do the patient to be uncharacteristically aggressive ( Coyne, 1996 ) . It is merely in recent old ages that maltreatment of the aged has become more evident, Crawford Et Al ( 2008, p122 ) argues that over clip it has really easy come to the attending of people in the last 50 old ages that abuse does really be behind closed doors ; in the 1950 s older people lived in big households where issues were hidden, and in the 60 s to 70 s older people started populating entirely or in residential places and it was non until the early 80 s that maltreatment had started to be recognised and defined. Penhale and Kingston ( 1997 ) argue that over the old ages it has been hard to underscore the issues of maltreatment due to non happening a sound theoretical base to which an understanding of a standard definition can be made and applied. Action on senior maltreatment ( 2006 ) defines elder maltreatment as A individual or repeated act or deficiency of appropriate action, happening within any relationship where there is an outlook of trust, which causes injury or hurt t o an older individual . Abuse comes in non merely physical maltreatment it comes besides in sexual, psychological, neglect, favoritism and fiscal every bit good. Older people may be abused by a broad scope of people including household members, friends, professional staff, attention workers, voluntaries or other service users, maltreatment can besides be perpetrated as a consequence of deliberate, carelessness or ignorance ( Royal pharmaceutical society ( RCA ) , 2007 ) . Maltreatment can happen in a assortment of fortunes and topographic points such as, in ain place, in a residential or twenty-four hours attention puting or infirmary and can by more than one individual or administration. Pritchard ( 2005 ) asserts that we will neer hold a true image of the prevalence of senior maltreatment due to the unreported instances, and can merely number 1s that are known to administrations and services. Most maltreatment is still unreported due to victims being frightened, ashamed and embarrassed to describe the maltreatment, non gaining their rights or non being able to due to tier mental wellness. Summers et Al ( 2006, p7 ) points out that those legislative acts that make abuse condemnable are frequently uneffective due to them non being utilised by the victim , and this means that this will be the biggest challenge and barrier for alteration in acquiring people to recognize the graduated table of the job and raising awareness so that the authorities agree to alter the statute law to protect older people. Abuse of any sort should non be ignored and there should be statute law to protect grownups from maltreatment like there is in kid protection, people who recognise the extent of senior maltreatment argue why should adults be treated as 2nd category to kids, is their agony and deceases any less of import? The Alzheimer s Society ( 2010 ) states that abuse of people with dementedn ess should be considered in the same manner as kid maltreatment . Crawford and Walker ( 2008, p12 ) province that prejudice refers to an inflexibleness of the head and idea, to values and attitudes that stand in the manner of just and non judgmental pattern . Thompson ( 2006, p13 ) defines favoritism as the procedure in which difference is identified and that difference is used as the footing of unjust intervention. A barrier to recognizing the maltreatment of people with dementedness and older people is that of societal stigma, negative perceptual experiences and intensions of words for mental wellness, such as baffled or doddering. Confused is something that we all experience at some clip in our lives, whereas senile is a more complex word and the first recording of its use was impersonal significance refering to old age, but now has negative intensions linked to mental diminution due to age ( Crawford and Walker, 2008 ) . Therefore, disputing people s perceptual experiences needs to done to alter these societal concepts to enable a alteration i n statute law and protection of vulnerable grownups. In March 2010 the section of wellness ran a series of runs to turn to hapless public apprehension of dementedness which included Television, wireless, imperativeness and on-line advertisement having real-people with dementedness ( Department of wellness, 2009 ) . In 2009 the first of all time dementia scheme was launched that hopes to transform the quality of dementedness attention, It sets out enterprises designed to do the lives of people with dementedness, their carer s and households better and more fulfilled It will increase consciousness of dementedness, guarantee early diagnosing and intercession and radically better the quality of attention that people with the status receive. Proposals include the debut of a dementia specializer into every general infirmary and attention place and for mental wellness squads to measure people with dementedness ( Department of wellness, 2009 ) . However, this is non statute law it is merely a scheme for covering with people with dementedness. The authorities are recognizing that there is small protection for vulnerable grownups and that farther statute law demand to be put in topographic point and saying that dementedness attention is a precedence ( BBC intelligence, 2007 ) . At present, there is no 1 particular statute law which straight protects vulnerable grownups, alternatively the applicable responsibilities and powers to measure and step in are contained within a scope of statute law and models, such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 2007 and the national service model for older people. One of the subjects for national service model ( NSF ) is esteeming the person which was triggered by a concern about widespread violation of self-respect and unjust favoritism in older peoples entree to care. The NSF hence leads programs to undertake age favoritism and to guarantee that older people are treated with regard, harmonizing to their single demands, specifically in standard 2 it relates to individual centred attention ( Crawford and Walker, 2008, p8 ) . And outlook of NSF is that there must be systems and processes put in topographic point to enable multi bureau working. In 2000 the authorities published No secrets which is counsel that requires local governments to put up a multi bureau model which includes wellness and the constabulary with a lead individual ( grownup societal attention ) to transport out processs into the allegations of maltreatment whilst equilibrating confidentiality and information sharing ( Samuel, 2008 ) . No Secrets is merely guidance and does non transport the same position as statute law, the LA s conformity is assessed through an review procedure, hence the LA can with good ground choose to disregard the counsel ( Action on senior maltreatment, 2006 ) . This has concerned bureaus who want to see the protection of grownups given the same tantamount precedences as kid protection and believe that statute law is the lone manner to carry through this. A reappraisal of No Secrets counsel has been carried out in 2008 and consulted with over 12000 people ( Department of Health, 2009 ) , the study found that over half ( 68 % ) of the respondents were in understanding to new safeguarding statute law and 92 % wanted local safeguarding boards to be placed on a statutory terms and still there is no statute law to protect vulnerable grownups ( Ahmed, 2009 ) . A recent article in community attention told the failure of the authorities to perpetrate to doing a policy has merely strengthened candidates fight and given rise to unfavorable judgment ( Ahmed, 2009 ) . The demand to protect vulnerable people brought about the protection of vulnerable grownups strategy ( POVA ) which is run by the Department of Health to modulate and supervise the employment of staff in the societal attention work force, through this strategy a list of people who are unsuitable to work with vulnerable people is unbroken. More late, the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 which was launched in 2008 replaced POVA with the Independent Safeguarding Authority ( IDeA, 2009 ) . The job with this is that maltreaters of dementedness sick persons are normally household member or informal carer that are under considerable emphasis and may non having aid from within the wellness and societal attention system, hence, an opprobrious state of affairs can transport on for some clip until the state of affairs is found by an foreigner. This state of affairs may merely be found when a informal carer starts inquiring for aid, and when informed of the state of affairs it is good pattern and indispensable to do certain that carers are acquiring the aid they need which can forestall the opprobrious state of affairss. Under the 1995 Carers ( Recognition and Services ) Act carers are entitled their ain appraisal of demand and by making so this may let for reprieve or payments to be made for their services ( Parker Et Al, 2003 ) . University College London research workers who interviewed people caring for relations with dementedness in their ain places stated within their research that Giving carers entree to reprieve, psychological support and fiscal security could assist stop mistreatment ( Cooper et al,2009 ) . When working with relations who are carers it is of import to retrieve who is the service user, although it is of import to determine the wants of the comparative it should non overrule the wants of the service user, this is particularly true when there is a break down in the attention of the service user and the carer wishes the service user to be p laced in attention. Many older people with dementedness receive attention in a residential place ; this may be due to household member no longer being able to get by with the attention of the individual. The local authorization has a responsibility to measure the demands of a individual with dementedness guaranting that their wants are heard and equal attention is put in topographic point. Assessment is an on-going procedure, in which the client participates, the intent of which is to understand people in relation to their environment ; it is a footing for be aftering what needs to be done to keep, better or convey about alteration in the individual, the environment or both ( Anderson Et Al, 2005 ) . The problem with puting people with dementedness in attention places is there are non plenty attention places specifically for people with dementedness and people end up in a place that do non hold trained staff to get by with single demands of person with dementedness, hence, people s wants may non be heard. As portion of the joint appraisal procedure it is the societal workers function to determine the wants of the person, this is done by measuring their demands in an holistic manner which includes and medical and societal facets of the individual. If there is uncertainty as to the mental capacity of the individual so a mental capacity appraisal will necessitate to be acquired by inquiring to joint buttocks with community psychiatric nurses ( CPN ) . Priestley ( 1998 ) states that the community attention reforms established the rule of joint working between wellness and societal services governments as a precedence for effectual attention appraisal and direction with societal servi ces taking the lead function . In decision at that place seem to hold been many displacements in the way of how policy and processs model and counsel attention for people with dementedness, although there is still no steadfast statute law to protect them. However, there seems to be more acknowledgment of the issues that surround dementedness and future ends are towards the preparation of people to understand those issues so that professionals are able to cover with the complex demands of a individual with dementedness. Word count 2969