Would you recognise if an older friend or neighbour was being abused, and would you know what to do?
A new video Notice Something? and mobile phone app, Elder Help, produced by the Older Person's Advocacy Network, will help members of the community to recognise the signs of elder abuse and access help.
"Every older Australian deserves to live free of abuse and neglect. Unfortunately the abuse of older people remains an insidious issue in Australia, affecting between two per cent and 10 per cent of older people in any given year," said OPAN chief executive Craig Gear.
"These resources aim to provide information to volunteers and all those in contact with older people to aid them to recognise the signs of possible abuse and to educate the wider community on the rights of older people receiving aged care and how to access aged care advocacy services.
"It is often aged care staff and families as well as volunteers and visitors who are on the frontline and might be the first to notice something is different or identify someone at risk."
The video and app were launched by Aged Care and Seniors Minister Richard Colbeck who said a benchmark of any society was how it treated and protected its older citizens.
The Elder Help app is available from Google Play and the App Store. The video can be viewed at the OPAN website opan.com.au/elder-abuse or below.
For help and advice on elder abuse call 1800-700-600. If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).
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