Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/744537
48 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2016 Future of long-term care of elderly discussed SHOULD we be adding life to years and years to life of older per- sons? Do we need to keep treat- ing certain conditions such such cholestorol beyond certain age at the risk of over loading the older person with medication? Do we need to speak to older persons, particularly those in care homes as if they are children? Do we need to make them do things they do not wish to do such as go out when they do not feel like it? Why should a person die still hooked to a drip when according to experts at a certain stage this becomes useless? These were some of the poignant questions asked during a seminar organised by the Caremalta Acad- emy within the Caremalta Group as part of the company's events to mark the International Day dedi- cated to older persons celebrated on October 1st. The seminar fa- cilitated by PBS journalist Mario Xuereb, focused on the future of long-term care of the elderly. The seminar was attended by various stakeholders including doctors, nurses, public oficers, mangers of old people's homes, elderly per- sons and academics. The keynote speaker at the semi- nar was Prof Pierre Mallia who touched upon a number of ethi- cal issues related to old age and the care of older people. He asked whether whether the human being is being assisted to live beyond the natural years with consequences such as he growing risk of treat- ing the older person as a number rather than a human being. Prof. Mallia also touched upon the issue of the dignity of the old- er person asking whether elderly persons are most often treated and spoken to as if they were chil- dren. Here he mentioned how vulner- able older persons are sometimes shouted at and made to do things like washing when in fact they do not feel like it that moment in time. It often happens, he reiter- ated, that caregivers and relatives end up taking decisions for them rather having them participating in the process. Prof Mallia sug- gested that ideally the older per- son should take certain decisions that would affect them later in life when they are still relatively healthy. Professor Mallia also said that allowing one to die in dignity is not killing. At a certain point it would be more beneficial to the older person not to keep receiving treatment but gets the tender, love and care that becomes so neces- sary at that point of one's life. Professor Mallia asked wheth- er it is high time to think about extending insurance cover to community care which could en- courage and facilitate the older person's stay at home even at a certain stage. However, he did ask whether certain community ser- vices that have been in place for almost 25 years are still working. Professor Mallia said that loneli- ness may be a sad reality and for this reason professionals who deal with elderly persons would so do well to go the extra mile to spend some time talking to them despite their busy schedules. Professor Mallia's speech un- doubtedly raised a lot of com- ments when the discussion was opened to the floor. spoke about the need to have trained and qualified staff provid- ing the service to older persons particularly in care homes. Other participants spoke about the im- portance of being more flexible when dealing with elderly resi- dents in Care Homes. One of the participants with years of experience working in this sector remarked that we should not adopt a one-size-fits-all atti- tude but opt for a person-centred care which is needed so much in a care setting if we really are to get to know the person and provide him or her with the service he/she needs. Another elderly participant spoke about the need for the state to provide night carers since a number of elderly do not mind staying alone at home during the day, once the right community services are provided, but having to sleep alone at night is an issue for them. Another participant re- marked that making the transition for your own home to a care home may be difficult and a gradual transition, whereby an elderly per- son would be able to go to a care home to spend the night or to eat only, should be considered. This makes it important, another par- ticipant remarked, to have homes in as many localities as possible. Almost 700 million are now over the age of 60 word-wide and by 2050, this figure will reach 2 bil- lion people, over 20 per cent of the world's current population . Mal- ta is no exception. Figures based on the 2011 Census indicate that at the end of 2013, 25 per cent of the total population, or 105,068 persons, were aged 60-plus. Popu- lation projections indicate a con- tinuously ageing population where Malta's population is expected to reach 429,000 persons by 2025. As a result it is not surprising that the services of long-term care (LTC) have increased substantially in re- cent decades. La Roche-Posay… a better life for Oncology patients LA Roche-Posay's longstanding mission is to aid people with sensitive or fragile skin, to im- prove their quality of life, and it has worked alongside derma- tologists for more than a decade in the detection and prevention of skin cancer. La Roche-Posay is committed to advancing re- search into the cutaneous side- effects of chemotherapy and ra- diotherapy so as to offer relief for cancer patients. Today, billions of people across the world are affected by cancer, and while therapies are necessary, they can have noticeable effects on the body, and have a genuine impact on the patient's quality of life. 2 in 3 cancer patients suffer from cutaneous side-effects ranging from light-sensitive or irritated skin to more severe symptoms and disorders. In line with this mission, Pro- health, the exclusive distribu- tors for La Roche-Posay, held a scientific evening for Special- ists, Dermatologists, and other Healthcare professionals work- ing within the field of Oncol- ogy on the 20th October 2016 at Villa Arrigo. The evening opened with an interesting and highly in- formative presentation on Bar- rier Protection under Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Can- cer given by Prof. Diana Lüft- ner from the German Society for Haematology and Medical Oncology. The talk aimed to highlight the importance of dealing with cutaneous side- effects so as to improve the quality of life of our Oncology patients. In coordination with this event, Prohealth has also do- nated €3000 in La Roche-Posay products to the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, and to the Children's Oncology Ward at Mater Dei Hospital. These will be distributed to patients by the medical staff. Property agents secured with Century 21 IF you are a property consult- ant with an entrepreneurial mind and aspire to have your own agency backed up by a glob- ally renowned brand, you should consider franchising. Franchis- ing with Century 21involves a strategic agreement which al- lows you to use the globally re- nowned Century 21 brand name. By choosing to franchise with Century 21 as a startup branch, you will still be in charge of your own business, but you will be backed up by years of experience and training programmes within the sector. 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