Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/286290
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 MARCH 2014 8 JAMES DEBONO 14% of old people's homes do not allow their residents to lock their room, an audit of 37 homes for the elderly conducted by the Office of the Commissioner for Mental Health and Older Persons has re- vealed. 16% of these homes do not let the elderly take their own medication, even though they are capable of do- ing so, commissioner John Cachia said in his report. But his greatest criticism was left for the way old people's independ- ence was being taken over by these institutions. While all homes were meeting the health and dietary needs of resi- dents, some homes were crippling the autonomy of residents. "It is felt that once individuals enter an old people's home, they tend to lose their autonomy and independence." Cachia said it was managers of the homes that were partly to blame, "as they tend to feel responsible for the residents in all aspects of life." Cachia said this overprotective attitude could result in individu- als losing the faculty to take simple decisions concerning themselves "even though they are capable of doing so". The report concluded that the present set-up of old people's home was not conducive to privacy or au- tonomy. "Sharing a room with a complete stranger can be quite traumatic and the fact that most of the day-to-day decisions are taken by other per- sons does not enhance autonomy," Cachia said. Improving the set-up of homes and making the residents feel part of the decision-making process would ensure that their needs and wishes are met to the satisfaction of both management and client. The report also reveals that pub- licly-owned homes tend to outper- form private and church-run insti- tutions in both traditional aspects of care, like provision of health services, and non-tangible care like friendliness of staff and the general environment. Private homes only get a mean score of 56% in a ranking system the Commission produced, based on a questionnaire and visits to the 37 homes for the elderly. The report proposes a 'star' or 'la- bel' system to recognize the achieve- ment of non-obligatory standards by the licensees and, at the same time, offer simple and reliable guid- ance to potential clients and their families. Needs of non-Catholics Only a fifth of residences for eld- erly people consider the need to provide special prayer areas for resi- dents who are not Roman Catholic. According to the report the provi- sion of special prayer areas for resi- dents of other faiths is not given due importance because to date most of the homes have not come across such requests. "However, homes need to be more aware that such requests are likely to arise sooner rather than later and need to plan how to tackle any such eventualities," the report stated. The report notes the vast major- ity of residents in all homes attend mass and religious activities. General environment found lacking While all healthcare needs were satisfied by all homes, the general environment of a number of homes was found to be lacking. One-sixth of the homes failed to attain 50% of the allotted points. "This is cause for concern as we be- lieve that the general environment of the home contributes consider- ably to the well-being of the resi- dent." It was noted that homes built pur- posely to serve as residential homes were more likely to score highly in this category. Written agreements The report also recommends News Private, church- run homes for the elderly fall behind Government homes tend to outperform private and church-run institutions in provision of health services, and even friendliness of staff and the general environment Ghadira Beach concession still impinges on cart ruts – Superintendence JAMES DEBONO REVISED plans for the development of a beach 'lido' concession over a rocky part of the Ghadira beach in Mellieha are "less intensive" than the original plans presented a year ago, but would still im- pinge on protected cart ruts, a report by the Superintendence for Cultural Herit- age reveals. The proposed works still include the laying out of walkways and platforms over tracts of the beach and the laying of a run-off drain across the beach, the Superintendence says. "Although the amended proposals are less intensive than initial proposals for the site, the proposed platforms will be mounted over part of the cart ruts and the pro- posed run-off drainage pipe will run across the cart ruts." The cart ruts in question were sched- uled by MEPA in 2010. In its letter to MEPA, the Superintend- ence asked for more details on how the sun-deck platforms will be mounted and called on the architect to remove the proposed drainage pipes. The long-dormant application, first presented in 2006, was reissued for pub- lic consultation on 9 March, and the ap- plicant has presented new plans. The proposal retains most of the sandy soil, includes underground shower and changing rooms located beneath the promenade and the removal of an ex- isting concrete path set to be replaced by a "barefoot friendly path" made of compact earth. It also includes various areas covered with demountable timber decking. In April 2013 the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage informed MEPA that the application in its current form is still "unacceptable" because the proposed works will cover the archeologically sen- sitive area, which will adversely impact the prehistoric cart ruts present on the site. Louis Vella noted the curt ruts in a report in 2009. Following an inspection by the Superintendence, the Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Authority sched- uled the cart ruts in December 2010. The area includes a tract of cart ruts running for approximately 100 meters along the foreshore. The superintend- ence also noted the presence of shallow quarrying that might be associated with the curt ruts. The Mellieha Holiday Centre, which includes a minimal 0.7% shareholding by the General Workers Union, was given a beach concession on a part of Ghadira Beach by a Labour government in 1986. For the next decade, the area was left in its natural state and the only construc- tion made was the building a tunnel con- necting the complex to the beach. The proposed beach concession was rejected twice by MEPA because it would hinder public access to the coast- line – a principle enshrined in Malta's Structure Plan. But the company has always insisted that it does not intend to hinder the pub- lic's access to the beach. The first application for the proposed beach concession was rejected by MEPA in December 2001. The application pro- posed the building of stores, toilets, a snack bar and decks for sunbathing. An- other application presented in 2002 pro- posed the building of a kiosk, sunbathing decks, showers and a jetty. The applica- tion was rejected in September 2004 but an appeal against MEPA's refusal was only concluded in May 2012. In the appeal, the developer's architect insisted that the proposal did not include any fixed structures and therefore had no impact on the environment. In his submissions, the developers' ar- chitect insisted that it seems very ironic that this space is made use of in a com- pletely uncontrollable manner by the public at large, with irrevocable damage to the fauna and flora of the area, and this is in fact permitted, while this attempt to clean up and monitor the state of this beach section in a controlled manner is discouraged. The appeal on this particular applica- tion was rejected, but MEPA – which is still processing the application – pre- sented it in 2006.