Yesterday's Sydney newspapers reported the case of a man, Jorge Chambers, whose body has been found dead in his apartment. Officials estimate, from banking records, that Mr Chambers could have been dead for up to a year.
Questions are being raised about how we can better care for our elderly who live alone. A spokesperson from Carers ACT was featured on the radio news at 10am this morning. She said that, among other things, elderly people in the ACT had duress alarms fitted in their apartments which can call for help - if they fall for example. This is good, but it wouldn't have helped this man. According to the report in the Daily Telegraph (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23029203-5001021,00.html) the man was found dressed and lying on his bed. There doesn't appear to have been any "duress" here.
When this man died, no one noticed. His pension was paid directly into his bank accont, and his rent was automatically deducted. The mailbox was overflowing, but neither the postie or the neighbours thought anything of it. What I'm wondering, is why did a neighbour call the authorities now? What is about this week that made him think, "Where's Jorge?".
The electricity was cut off six months ago.
We live in an age where things are done by computer. Accounts are managed from a central HQ, in your capital city, interstate or overseas. It used to be that the person you spoke to on the phone about your bills was someone you walked past in the street. But not anymore.
I don't know how we make "real" connections in this day of "electronic" connectedness. We are fooling ourselves if we think that texting, email and (heaven forbid!) blogs make up for one to one human contact.
And I don't know where we draw the line either. I bet Mr Chambers was a very private man, a man who valued his privacy. How do we balance making sure these people are OK, while respecting their rights and their privacy?
When my mother lived alone we were very grateful for the upstairs neighbour who took it upon himself to look after the oldies in their block of flats. But after a while... I found him to be grating. He seemed to always be around at Mums place... or just around. He had a finger in everything that went on at that block of flats. Little things disappeared from Mums place. Now, in all likelihood, Mum gave them away, but there was a question mark about trust. How do you find someone who you trust to check on your elderly relatives, particularly when the live a long way away from you? And how much more difficult when families are estranged from one another?
As usual, more questions than answers. We need a way for technology to build real communities. I haven't found it yet, but it's something I feel really passionate about.
Related links:
Interesting to see this reported internationally:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/10/ap/strange/main3694866.shtml
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