Half of bank staff dealt with suspected elder abuse

A survey of bank officials found almost half had dealt with cases of suspected elder abuse, with most reporting that they had dealt with at least one case in the past year.

Of the 493 Ulster Bank customer service staff who participated in the survey 45 per cent had dealt with suspected elder financial abuse cases.

The results, published today by Age Action to coincide with World Elder Abuse Day, is part of an initiative to raise awareness on the issue of financial abuse which formed a fifth of the 13,000 cases of elder abuse referred to the HSE between 2007 and 2013.

Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications with Age Action, said financial abuse was the second most common form of elder abuse.

The HSE information line for reporting elder abuse is on 1850-241850. Or contact Age Action on 01-4756989.