Unannounced visit to GH Stark Old Age Home conducted by MEC

Today, Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Albert Fritz, continued his older persons oversight visits campaign, paying an unannounced visit to the GH Stark Old Age Home in Hanover Park.

Old Age Homes are officially referred to as Residential Facilities in the Older Persons Act of 2006.

The MEC was accompanied by senior officials from the Department’s Older Persons Programme. The visit forms part of the Minister's ongoing campaign to raise awareness the need for proper care and respect of the elderly across the province.

The MEC directly addressed management of the residential facility to gain a greater understanding of the challenges they face. The MEC also took the opportunity to raise issues related to weaknesses at the facility, which had impacted on the care of the elderly.

Some of the challenges included structural damage experienced by the Home after an attempted burglary, ageing carpets and the need to revamp the kitchen and its equipment.

In this regard, the Programme committed to working with GH Stark to ensure that it adheres to the norms and standards as set out in the Act.

Residential facilities play a crucial role in providing much needed services to the elderly in the province, and a total of R148-million was allocated in 2016/17 towards our ever expanding services. This Department funds a dedicated network of 450 NGOs specializing in services to older persons, assisting 85 475 persons (up from 59 870 in the prior year).

The public can report any suspected neglect or abuse of the elderly to the department by visiting any DSD local office or contacting the DSD hotline on 0800 220 250.