Specialized Care for Elderly Persons is a Focus

Eleanor Bennett

Another setback says Nurse Eleanor Bennett is that Belize does not have the trained persons in geriatric psychology and health care that should be provided to those elderly persons that have been institutionalized, placed in homes and left neglected by loved one. Nurse Bennett says service specialized for elderly persons is the goal that they are seeking.

Nurse Eleanor Bennett, Mental Health Services Coordinator, Central Health Region

“Let me tell you, I’ve worked in mental health for the past…I don’t want to say how long, but quite a long time. A lot of it has to do with the passion. Stigma is still an issue—not only for the patients but people who work in this field. Certainly, we do have the majority of the participants being the mental health staff, but we do have representatives from Sister Cecilia, from HelpAge and from Octavia Waight because we felt it was important for these people to also be updated with what is available. The facilitator has been giving them practical ways of changing the environment, modifying the behavior, responding to problem behaviors like aggression. So I think it is important not only for us, but for them as well to help them teach their staff on how to preserve the human rights of these people in institutions, which is extremely important. What I would want is for very solid services that are specialized just for this population in terms of not only clinical facilities, but places where they can congregate and good support for family members and it comes to the point where they need to live in facilities and institutions. I would like to see institutions with trained staff that could address the particular problems of this age group.”

It is known that in Belize people are living longer, but it does not mean that they enjoy a good quality life.