Calls to abuse charities have hit unprecedented highs throughout 2020 lockdowns.
Read the statement from the Executive here
Our dedication to helping create a world where every older person is free from abuse and harm is the reason we believe in Safer Ageing.
Hourglass Northern Ireland welcomes the announcement that the long awaited Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill has passed the Consideration Stage. As Minister of Justice Naomi Long notes, there is no singular type of victim of abuse and although we are particularly grateful to Emma Rogan for highlighting our work in the debate last night, the simple fact is that older people have been overlooked in these discussions and indeed in their protections for far too long.
From Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December, you must stay at home, except for specific purposes.
The lockdown is in place to protect the NHS, make sure schools and universities can remain open and ensure as many people as possible can remain in work. But your safety is of the upmost importance. If you or someone you know is suffering abuse, isolation rules do not apply.
For more information and to sign up for any of the following please email us at scotland@wearehourglass.org
November/December 2020
Monday 30th November 3 – 4pm
Spiritual care for older people. It is everyone’s business Information
On the eve of a second national lockdown to help slow the spread of coronavirus, Hourglass (formerly Action on Elder Abuse), has warned that older people are again at heightened risk of abuse, neglect and isolation.
Veronica Gray, Deputy CEO of Hourglass said:
The CQC released their report yesterday. It includes welcomed recommendations, however, lockdown measures created a pressure cooker environment for abuse. Hourglass saw enquiries to our helpline increase by 110%. With no improvement in the ratings for adult social care over the last twelve months, this highlights yet again that much more still needs to be done. We support the CQC’s call for a new deal for the care workforce and the recognition of the important role voluntary and community organisations provide.
Grandparents Day takes place this Sunday 4th October.
Hourglass is delighted to be involved with this year’s Ageing Well Festival. Although the festival is a little different due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, it's wonderful to see the virtual events taking place to promote wellness in the older community.
We Are Hourglass
Over the past six months, the nation has watched in horror as Coronavirus rampaged through our hospitals, our care homes and our communities, infecting older and vulnerable people, and ultimately taking lives prematurely.
It has been difficult year so far for all of us. A global pandemic, lockdown, COVID-19 related deaths, mental health issues, and economic uncertainty have all created a most unprecedented situation.
Danske Bank is encouraging customers to consider what would happen if they were no longer able to do their own banking, and to act now.
That might mean naming a friend or family member the customer would trust to take control of their bank accounts if they were to have difficulty accessing their accounts or no longer feel confident in doing so due to age, illness or other unforeseen circumstances.
A national charity, based in Long Melford, has won a place on the Aviva Community Fund to raise £9,500 to appoint an Out of Hours Officer. The Fund shares £250,000 each quarter with its UK-based staff, allowing them to donate to small charities and community projects they feel strongly about. In addition, the public is asked to donate to help boost much-needed funds.
Judicial review proceedings have been issued today [Monday 8 June, 2020] after the Government refused to launch an urgent inquiry into failures to provide adequate PPE for NHS staff and other frontline care workers.
Hourglass East Anglia is the East of England face of the UK’s only charity focusing on safer ageing and the harm and abuse of older people.
An action group* working to stop the abuse of older people is urging the public to report any concerns they may have if they fear an older person may be at risk of or is experiencing abuse.
Safer ageing charity Hourglass has today [Tuesday 5 May 2020] joined ten other organisations who provide advice and services to older people, people with learning disabilities, cognitive disabilities, mental health issues and/or autism and their families in writing to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to raise their concerns about the decision to stop carrying out inspections of care homes and hospitals.
Hourglass NI launches at a time of real change for the voluntary and charitable sector in Northern Ireland. There had been no devolved government in Northern Ireland since January 2017 because the two majority parties DUP and Sinn Féin couldn’t come to a power-sharing agreement. This uncertainty had plagued the third sector economy and left our only point of contact the NI civil service. An agreement was finally reached in mid-January 2020 – but the uncertainty remains and the legislature now needs to urgently catch up.
Organisations working to safeguard and protect people who experience abuse or are the victims of crime have joined forces to ensure that older people can get the support they need to keep them safe and protected during this difficult time.
Every year, more than one million older people are physically, emotionally, financially or sexually abused and neglected in the UK. These are our mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties, grannies, grandads, friends and neighbours.
Richard Robinson, CEO of Hourglass, said:
‘Even under the best of circumstances, we know that more than a million older people experience abuse or neglect in the UK every year.
Over a million older people experience abuse or neglect in the UK every year
Hourglass is the only UK charity dedicated to ending harm, abuse and exploitation of older people. Hourglass Cymru works tirelessly throughout Wales; promoting a society where we can all grow old feeling safe and secure and without fear of abuse.
Hourglass' CEO Richard Robinson made a statement for The National on the impact of new government measures on older people in Scotland, citing new research showing that 25% of people in Scotland fail to see “acts of domestic violence directed towards an older person” as abuse.
Full report available: here
Older women disproportionately affected by sexual incidents in social care - Hourglass welcomes regulator’s call for change
We at Hourglass welcome the news that Sinn Féin and the DUP have re-entered devolved government in Northern Ireland after three years of deadlock - all parties can now start delivering the much-needed reforms to our public services and restore public confidence in devolved government.
We are delighted to be able to offer reduced price wills from respected Scottish solicitors, McEwan Fraser Legal. Not only are you protecting your inheritance and your loved ones, but the full amount you pay will be donated directly to Hourglass.
The suggested donation amount is for a professional will is £200 (although you cannot less if you wish), and the full amount will go towards supporting the work of Hourglass.
In February 2019, the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee began taking evidence on the nature, extent and prosecution of the abuse of older people.
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