Health and social care for older adults are essential parts of Malta’s welfare policy. Life expectancy in Malta is among the highest in Europe and today over 20 per cent of the local population has passed the standard retirement age. 

While every effort is made to help older adults to continue to live in their own homes and enjoy their independence, many will at some stage need full-time care in a retirement home because of increased morbidity. It is a matter of fact that in the past few decades, not enough investment has been made to provide residential homes for the elderly in the public sector. 

Successive administrations have relied on the private sector to provide such facilities. Retired homes for the elderly managed by private companies have cropped up in various parts of the island as demand for such care is steadily increasing. It is time for social policymakers to define standards of care to be provided in both private and public care homes.

The Social Care Standards Authority and the Commissioner for the Elderly have just signed a memorandum of understanding committing to collaboration between the two entities to ensure the elderly enjoy the highest standards. If this agreement leads to guaranteeing the residents of retirement homes a level of service that they deserve, it will be a step in underpinning respect for older adults.

Elderly care today is more advanced and complicated than in the past. Much of the care and treatment once provided in hospitals are now given in residential homes, which makes it essential to have efficient multi-professional teams capable of working with older adults and their families. The training of such professionals should be a top priority for our health and educational authorities as well as for private entrepreneurs providing residential home services. The status of qualified carers needs to be upgraded by granting them decent working conditions and pay.

Older people living in residential homes should be allowed to discuss their needs and preferences, including the people they wish to be involved in their care. This standard implies that the elderly will be treated with dignity and privacy, particularly during communication, physical examination and activities of daily living. 

Older people in residential homes need to have their cognitive status assessed and documented primarily because of the rise in the incidence of dementia. Older people with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of dementia or depression should be provided with a higher level of care. Unfortunately, cases of abuse or neglect by care workers are more common in such circumstances.

While private businesses providing residential care facilities do so for a profit, the maximisation of returns on investment should never be achieved at the cost of the lowering of care standards. The proposed standards should lay down that older persons in residential homes are cared for by knowledgeable and skilled staff, with care provided at a safe staffing level.

The provision of care for older adults, whether they are still living in their own homes or residential homes, is a big challenge for the future. 

Defining the standards is just the first step in ensuring the level of care service providers should guarantee to the elderly living in residential homes is not just adequate but among the best when benchmarked with that adopted by advanced European countries.