The Aged

by 
Silvia Marangoni

Respect for self-determination 
What we do

Roma - Italy

The linking and connecting role of the service provides accurate and updated information regarding the location of the services available, the way to access them and current legislative measures. In this regard, a map of offers for both public and private residence is made available to the elderly in order to direct them to structures that can give the best standards of assistance and respond to the criteria of enjoyment requested by the elderly themselves.

The requests reach the Telephone of Solidarity of the Sant�Egidio Community from hospitals, centres for the elderly, from people with elderly parents, neighbours, etc.

Once the request reaches us, a person from the Community contacts the elderly person. A geriatric evaluation evaluation is made regarding the conditions of the elderly: the degree of autonomy, health conditions, economic means, presence or absence of family members or other relatives, the type of lodging etc.

Dublin - Ireland

The solutions are adopted after gathering further information during an interview. If the elderly is not able to furnish adequate information the help of relatives or others is sought. Above all, it is important to ascertain whenever possible and to respect the wishes of the elderly: Does he or she want to stay home?  Does he or she want to move into a nursing home or to another type of institute?  Does the elderly person know and agree with the decision of the relatives regarding either a change or a transfer. It is also important to detect the availability of the relatives, what kind of assistance they are able to provide, the economic resources available and their use, and recognize the presence of others who want to help.

The teams that conduct this work meet regularly to discuss the different situations and possible solutions.