The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government is building its first rental complex exclusively for seniors in four decades and is weighing a residence for up to 70 older people who can no longer live on their own, Social Services Minister Barbara Cartwright told the Senate yesterday.

Ms Cartwright revealed the plans as senators debated the Older Persons Rights, Protection, Care and Support Bill, 2026, sweeping legislation that would protect older people’s rights and property, place legal duties on families and caregivers, and outlaw the physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuse of people aged 65 and older. The bill passed the House of Assembly earlier this month.

The rental complex is being built on Iris Court, Lifebuoy Street.

Ms Cartwright gave no timeline for the residence, but said the government envisioned a safe, disability-friendly facility built to withstand severe weather and equipped with appropriate recreational spaces.

“The question before us is simple,” she said. “What kind of country do you want to grow old in? I want a Bahamas where no mother is left in a hospital bed or ward with no one to take her home, where no father’s pension is stolen by the hands of those that are supposed to care for them, where no grandmother waits by the door for a visitor who never comes. This bill brings us closer to that Bahamas.”

The opposition supported the bill but warned that legislation alone could not guarantee dignity for older people.

FNM Senator Arinthia Komolafe urged the government to be deliberate in carrying out the bill’s provisions and said elder care could not be discussed without addressing the state of the healthcare system.

“It is sad that Bahamians are scared to go to our public hospitals for fear that they or their loved ones may not make it out,” she said.

She said more needed to be done for older people battered by the cost-of-living crisis.

“They are struggling to pay their life bills, struggling to buy food, struggling to put gas in their cars,” she said.

Ms Cartwright also had a message for families. Being next of kin, she said, was not a legal designation but a moral calling, one that required staying in touch, visiting loved ones, recognising when something was wrong and giving care in return.

“I say to the families of The Bahamas,” she said. “This is not a burden placed upon you. It is a sacred trust reposed in you. The next of kin stands as the first line of defence.”

Under the bill, next of kin would have a general duty to help an older person achieve an appropriate standard of living, including ensuring that a relative in their care has a safe living environment, adequate food and water, clothing and other essentials.

Every caregiver would have a moral and legal responsibility to provide reasonable care, act in the older person’s best interests, avoid abuse and neglect, administer prescribed medication or treatment properly and operate only within the authority legally given to them.

“Having toured many of our senior citizens’ homes,” Ms Cartwright said, “I am of the view that there is considerable work still to be done.”

She said officers of the Residential Care and Licensing Authority would visit and inspect residences and care facilities where vulnerable people were at risk. They would respond to every complaint with urgency, she said, within 24 hours where emergency care and protection was required and within 72 hours in general care and protection cases.

She pledged to deliver a national older persons policy within the first month of the bill’s enactment, prioritising people living with dementia, their caregivers and other stakeholders. During debate in the House, Minister of State for Social Services Bacchus Rolle said an estimated 1,920 to 2,000 people in The Bahamas live with dementia.

The government would support families caring for older relatives through day care services, community nursing, home-based healthcare and caregiver training, Ms Cartwright said. It would also introduce assistive technology, including emergency alert and location devices for those living with cognitive impairment, and ensure seniors’ needs are built into disaster preparedness plans so no older person is forgotten when a storm comes.

The bill also creates a specific offence of financially exploiting an older person, including misusing their pension or National Insurance benefits, punishable by a fine of up to $50,000, five years in prison, or both.

Earlier this month, Pat’s Senior Citizens Home proprietor Patricia Moxey told The Tribune that some families were collecting elderly relatives’ NIB benefits while failing to pay their accommodation fees, leaving the home owed more than $200,000.