Local senior citizens fear for services

SENIOR citizens in Finglas fear they’re being left vulnerable in their own homes due to reductions in liaison officer services at their complexes.

Dublin City Council provides a liaison service at all its senior citizens’ complexes and officers visit residents on a weekly basis to check on their wellbeing.

Residents can opt out of the service but locals at Kilshane Court in Finglas believe liaison officers who have retired in the area over the past two years haven’t been replaced, leaving complexes with little or no service.

Kevin Nolan of the Kilshane Court Residents Group believes vulnerable older people are being left to fend for themselves and they are concerned that the liaison service may be eventually wound down.

“They’re leaving old people to look after old people,

? he told Northside People.

“In the last two years around 10 or 11 liaison officers have retired and they haven’t been replaced. They’re spreading out the work between the ones that are left. I can speak for three fairly new sheltered housing complexes in Finglas and our liaison officer service is nil.

“I haven’t had a liaison officer visit for the last three months.

?

Mr Nolan said many residents had given up homes they had bought to move into senior citizens’ complexes in order to keep their independence in a safe environment.

He’s been living in local complexes for over a decade and says services have deteriorated over the years.

“When sheltered housing was first set up there was a warden in every complex who would knock at the door every day to see how you were getting on,

? he said.

“Once a week they’d go in and check the emergency bell and while they were there they’d have a look around to see if everything was OK and there wasn’t any situations going on where neglect was involved. They did a great job.

?

The warden service was phased out in the

’80s, mainly because of employment legislation and health and safety issues, and replaced by a liaison officer who looks after a number of complexes in an area.

But Mr Nolan says many residents believe that this is now under threat and there are real concerns that the service is becoming ineffective and may eventually be scrapped altogether.

“The liaison officer service wasn’t a patch on the warden service but people grew into it,

? he told Northside People.

“In the old days a liaison officer would have maybe two complexes to deal with but now they have four or five.

“They aren’t been replaced when they retire and it’ll get to a stage like we have here in Finglas where we have none. All we have at the moment is the emergency bell but they’ll emphasise that you have your mobile phone as well.

“Dublin City Council introduced this system and they felt it was completely necessary for over 50 years and for some reason now they’ve decided it’s no longer necessary. Why they are taking it away, given its importance, is beyond me.

?

Dublin City Council has been subject to the moratorium on recruitment in the Public Sector since 2009, meaning any post vacated can’t be filled without sanction from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Last year the council’s liaison officer services came under fire after a resident at a Southside senior citizen complex died at home and his body lay undiscovered for over a month.

In response to criticism at the time, the council issued a statement pointing out that a five-day Liaison Officer Service was available to all residents at each of its complexes citywide, if they elected to use it.

“However, a number of residents have chosen not to avail of this Liaison Service and we respect their wishes for privacy and to live independently,

? the statement read.

“It should be stressed that every unit in each of our senior citizens complexes is fitted with a number of strategically placed monitored panic alarms, linked to a central control centre, which our residents can activate if in distress or in need of assistance.

“The City Council will react immediately once notified of an alarm activation. Furthermore, if we receive a call from a concerned relative of one of our senior citizens, we will make contact with the resident, even if the person concerned has elected not to avail of the Housing Liaison service.

?

A council spokesperson was unavailable to respond to queries in relation to liaison services at Kilshane Court or in Finglas at time of going to press.