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Stephen O Brien, Shadow Health Minister, congratulates AEA and Southern Cross on the helpline initiative 

Staffed by Action on Elder Abuse, the freephone helpline gives service users, relatives and staff the opportunity to report abuse knowing that their concerns will be dealt with confidentially and without fear of repercussions.

Stephen O’Brien, MP for Eddisbury and Shadow Health Minister, Gary Fitzgerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse and Jamie Buchan, chief executive of Southern Cross Healthcare spoke at the event and took questions from the invited audience.

Mr O’Brien said: “Both Southern Cross and Action on Elder Abuse are to be congratulated for this helpline.  We must celebrate the fact that we have got many fantastic care homes and wonderful carers. However, the subject of elder abuse should not be hidden away and I am glad that Southern Cross, as the largest care provider, is bringing the subject out into the open and tackling it in a robust way.  It was a pleasure to be a part of the forum and to meet some of the dedicated staff and the residents at Overdene House, who were obviously very happy in the home’s environment.”

Gary Fitzgerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse said: “It is great credit to Southern Cross that the company has entered into partnership with us rather than taking a safer and easier option. It is also important to point out that the majority of abuse takes place in people’s own homes and not in care homes.  Every single one of the calls made to the helpline has been dealt with promptly and appropriately by Southern Cross and resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. This should give people the confidence to use the helpline safe in the knowledge that their concerns will be listened to and dealt with and without fear of retribution.”

Jamie Buchan, chief executive of Southern Cross Healthcare said: “As a company we take a zero tolerance approach to abuse of any type in our homes. The aim is to provide person-centred care with dignity for every one of our residents.  We are determined to tackle abuse by supporting this independent and robust system intended to protect residents, relatives and staff who wish to raise concerns safe in the knowledge they will be treated seriously and without prejudice.

As a major care provider we believe we are leading the way in providing a platform for people to voice concerns about abuse and bad practice, as well as ensuring that these concerns will be acted upon. This is the first partnership of its kind and Southern Cross is the only major provider to adopt a positive approach to tackling this important issue.”