Elder abuse: responsibilities of staff when safeguarding nursing home residents in the Republic of Ireland
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Elder abuse: responsibilities of staff when safeguarding nursing home residents in the Republic of Ireland

Anita Duffy Nurse tutor, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, and adjunct assistant professor, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Louise Casey Principal medical social worker and director of bereavement counselling and family, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Dublin, Ireland
Michael Connolly Joint associate professor of clinical nursing, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services and School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the policies and procedures related to safeguarding nursing home residents at risk of abuse

  • To be aware of the categories and possible indicators of elder abuse

  • To learn about the role of nurses in the assessment and management of suspected incidents of elder abuse

Elder abuse is a growing concern for nurses who work with older people, and safeguarding incidents can be challenging and complex to manage. In the Republic of Ireland, safeguarding agencies claim there is a lack of reporting of abuse to the authorities, raising questions as to whether nurses know how, when and where to report safeguarding concerns. Despite varying strategies and laws concerning the reporting of elder abuse worldwide, the principles of recognising and responding to abuse are similar. However, to date, there is no specific legislation governing safeguarding for adults in Ireland. This article discusses elder abuse and safeguarding nursing home residents from an Irish perspective, explaining the process of managing concerns in practice using an analysis of a case study.

Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2022.e1404

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@aniduffy

Correspondence

aduffy@olh.ie

Conflict of interest

None declared

Duffy A, Casey L, Connolly M (2022) Elder abuse: responsibilities of staff when safeguarding nursing home residents in the Republic of Ireland. Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2022.e1404

Published online: 12 October 2022

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more