Cases of elderly people in Rotorua being abused by carers have prompted moves by Age Concern to set up a new service to stamp out the problem.
Local cases of elderly abuse revealed to The Daily Post include a controlling carer who left a woman on the toilet unable to move, a man who was ripped off by his family, incontinence sufferers not having their underwear changed, people being under or over-medicated or simply neglected.
Unexplained bruises have been found on the bodies of the elderly, with fingertip marks around the tops of arms and legs, signalling possible physical abuse or caregivers getting "too rough".
Such cases have heightened concerns over elderly abuse, a lack of support services and the absence of a devoted agency to deal with the problem, forcing a change in focus for Rotorua Age Concern.
The organisation - previously focused on providing social activities for the elderly - plans to bid for a Ministry of Social Development contract to enable it to administer programmes on elder abuse and neglect prevention in Rotorua.
Unlike instances of child abuse, there is no mandatory reporting of elderly abuse, making it difficult to make an accurate assessment of how widespread the problem is.
A Families Commission report issued last year pinpointed isolation, poor health and having family members with mental health or substance abuse problems as factors raising the risk of elder abuse. The report also covered psychological, physical, sexual and financial abuse of the elderly.
Rotorua Age Concern vice president Janine Glyde said she was confronted with her first case of physical and psychological abuse against an elderly person at the hands of their carer last year.
An elderly woman was being "imprisoned in her own environment" according to Mrs Glyde. The woman was a victim of her carer's need for "power and control", she said.
It was this experience which drove her to volunteer for Age Concern.
"My experience of elderly people is that they are not a generation of people who want to speak out. They don't want to be a burden," Mrs Glyde said.
Since then, she had come across four other cases herself but suspected the problem was far more widespread, she said.
"We can say with a degree of confidence that, sadly, this is something we know is happening in our backyard."
Clinical leader of elderly care at the Rotorua General Practitioners' Group, Dr Simon Firth, acknowledged more needed to be done to support those at the coalface of elderly abuse.
"The idea that it's not a problem in Rotorua is just a joke," Dr Firth told The Daily Post.
Age Concern will be putting its hand up for the local elder abuse contract expected to come up for tender in 2010. However, due to the change in Government, this is yet to be confirmed.
ABUSE CASES Rotorua cases of elderly abuse
* A carer used "power and control" to dominate her elderly patient in her own home. The elderly woman was reliant on her carer to toilet and clean her and was often left on the toilet unable to move. The elderly woman wanted to become independent by helping to cook meals, however the carer denied her this opportunity. The woman was forced to sacrifice her independence and move into a rest home.
* A man who was unable to speak trusted his family to take care of his financial affairs, instead they failed to pay his bills and pocketed the money. Alongside the financial abuse, the man was also found to be malnourished.
* Elderly people have been left wearing soiled clothing and found to have unexplained bruises.
* There have been cases of elderly people in Rotorua being under or over-medicated.
