Pensioner who died in Cork lay undiscovered for seven months

the_pen_turner

its a terrible situation

i know an old couple that are like this near my GFs home place. i wouldnt be suprised if something similar happens to them. they live in a really out of the way location and have high ditches left grow wild around their house and few acres. they only go to town once a week and almost never venture outside their own land and are never seen as a result. they say they have no reason to.
all their few acres is left grow into a lovely wild flower meadow with a few gravel paths around it so looks the same all the time. the post box is built into a tiny shed wall that would take years to fill up before the postman would notice. the esb meter is on this wall aswell so the reader wouldnt need to even go near the house.
you cannot see the house from the gate that is always closed


one is friendly but the other is rude and stand offish to anyone that calls in . anyown i have spoken to locally about them will tell you that they have been told to leave them alone and if they want to talk etc then they willl go to them . these are their friends even.

i cannot think of any reason someone would have to go near them to accidentally find them

Rhys Essien

This was actually the SECOND case of an elderly person being found in Cork in the last two months. The other elderly person was thought to be there for 5/6 months. Something needs to be put in place to prevent this happening again. Can banks not have an alert system if funds are not touched after a few weeks especially if they know the person is single widowed or if somebody refuses home help/ meals on wheels then they agree to a doctor calling them every two months or something.

freshpopcorn

Rhys Essien wrote: »

This was actually the SECOND case of an elderly person being found in Cork in the last two months. The other elderly person was thought to be there for 5/6 months. Something needs to be put in place to prevent this happening again. Can banks not have an alert system if funds are not touched after a few weeks especially if they know the person is single widowed or if somebody refuses home help/ meals on wheels then they agree to a doctor calling them every two months or something.

The thing is all those things above are good ideas.
The problem arises is some people have the attitude I'm entitled to do my own thing and just because I'm old shouldn't make a difference.

splinter65

gctest50 wrote: »

You could automate it

What do you mean automate it?

Nekarsulm

splinter65 wrote: »

What do you mean automate it?

I suppose a monitor that could detect movement and send an alert if no motion for 24 hours.
One in the bedroom and one in the kitchen should do it.
Good luck getting people to accept that, though....

splinter65

Rhys Essien wrote: »

This was actually the SECOND case of an elderly person being found in Cork in the last two months. The other elderly person was thought to be there for 5/6 months. Something needs to be put in place to prevent this happening again. Can banks not have an alert system if funds are not touched after a few weeks especially if they know the person is single widowed or if somebody refuses home help/ meals on wheels then they agree to a doctor calling them every two months or something.

Plenty of people and not just elderly people don’t go near their bank for a withdrawal for months and months on end.
How can banks be expected to keep a track of who is living with who and where? How would that work?
I don’t want meals on wheels I don’t want the PHN calling ...why do I have to agree to the GP calling and how is the GP going to find the time and what difference is the GP calling going to make?
Part of the problem here is that people find it difficult to cope with the idea that everyone has to die.
So when something like this happens it brings it home, you are going to die.
Right now you wish that if you were at the point of death that your loved ones would be at your side fighting for your life.
It’s not like that for everyone.
Lots of people for many many different reasons want to be left alone. Or maybe be left to pick and choose who they communicate with.Right to the very end.
That is their right. It simply must be respected and protected.
Forcing intrusive visits on people who are mentally capable of making their own deductions just because others find the whole loneliness and isolation thing very uncomfortable is a ridiculous suggestion.

splinter65

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I suppose a monitor that could detect movement and send an alert if no motion for 24 hours.
One in the bedroom and one in the kitchen should do it.
Good luck getting people to accept that, though....

Send an alert to whom? All vulnerable people have the option of availing of a personal alarm which alerts the authorities if you press it.
Lots of vulnerable people don’t want it.
We can’t force them to have it.
You can’t micro manage people’s lives like that.

Nekarsulm

splinter65 wrote: »

Send an alert to whom? All vulnerable people have the option of availing of a personal alarm which alerts the authorities if you press it.
Lots of vulnerable people don’t want it.
We can’t force them to have it.
You can’t micro manage people’s lives like that.

I never advocated forcing anything on anyone.
I just proposed a possible method of monitoring for vulnerable people.
And I know fine well lots of people have the pendants and don't wear them.
Ten years or so ago, and elderly couple died if exposure a few miles away.
One fell in their garden, and the other went to help and somehow got stuck too.
Their alarm pendants were safe and sound in the kitchen.

splinter65

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I never advocated forcing anything on anyone.
I just proposed a possible method of monitoring for vulnerable people.
And I know fine well lots of people have the pendants and don't wear them.
Ten years or so ago, and elderly couple died if exposure a few miles away.
One fell in their garden, and the other went to help and somehow got stuck too.
Their alarm pendants were safe and sound in the kitchen.

All vulnerable people, if they have a GP, are referred to the PHN, who will call and make all kinds of suggestions about personal alarms, day care centers, active retirement groups, meals on wheels, voluntary care groups (often attached to the local church) etc.
If people don’t have family, don’t want to engage with family, and don’t want to engage with local services then their wishes must be adhered to.
I can assure you that anyone who reaches out to be helped will be helped.
Sometimes people need full time care and attention in a nursing home and they just don’t want to go. That’s fine too.
But yes they may die alone and undiscovered for a while because that is a consequence of having your wishes respected.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

The most haunting story of this type that I heard was of Joyce Vincent. She died in late 2003 at age 38 in her flat in a very busy part of London. She was only found in early 2006 when bailiffs forced the door open. The television was still on and she was surrounded by wrapped Christmas presents.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Vincent

Franz Von Peppercorn II

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

The most haunting story of this type that I heard was of Joyce Vincent. She died in late 2003 at age 38 in her flat in a very busy part of London. She was only found in early 2006 when bailiffs forced the door open. The television was still on and she was surrounded by wrapped Christmas presents.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Vincent

She just lost contact with people. In the modern age someone of her generation would be noticed missing on Facebook etc.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Franz Von Peppercorn II wrote: »

She just lost contact with people. In the modern age someone of her generation would be noticed missing on Facebook etc.

Yes and that’s disturbing to me. Even her family didn’t know where she was. They hired a PI to try and locate her.