Care provider calls for ban on trick or treating the elderly
A CARE provider from Wales is calling for a ban on trick or treating the elderly this month (October, 2016).
Abacare first launched its campaign to ban trick or treating in 2014 and it received lots of support so the care company aims to spread the word further this year.
Peter Angelides, CEO of Abacare, which has recently won a significant tender in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and Merthyr Tydfil and has opened a new office at Ty Cynon, Navigation Park, said: “Halloween is a very child-orientated holiday and while we encourage youngsters to have fun, we also urge them to think about any elderly relatives or neighbours they might have as the celebrations can cause fear in them.
“It can be especially frightening for any elderly people living alone who may not want to open their doors to strangers on a cold winter evening. Not opening the door can result in a nasty ‘trick’ being played, which is equally distressing for older people.
“We want people to be more aware of the elderly and vulnerable this Halloween and instead of trick or treating on them, perhaps people can check they are warm and doing ok.”
Feelings of anxiety around Halloween is also known as Samhainophobia. People with the phobia can feel panic and huge amounts of stress throughout the Halloween period.
The thought of what the people at the door might do if they don’t answer it can be particularly worrying, as people have been known to throw eggs, flour, throw fireworks and start fires.
Peter added: “We will be providing our service users with posters to display in their window to deter potential trick or treaters from knocking on their doors and we hope the rest of Wales follows suit.”
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person centred care to people throughout the UK.
Its core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
It is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Social Services Inspectorate Wales.
Abacare was also recently awarded an Investors in People accolade for its staff training and development for the fourth year running.
Investors in People is a national standard, which provides a framework that helps organisations to improve performance and realise objectives through the effective management and development of their staff.
Staff at the care agency were assessed to ensure the organisation met the requirements of the standard.
It was also named Britain’s ‘Most Outstanding Care Agency’ at the UK Over 50s Housing Awards in 2014 and 2015 and has been nominated in the same category at this year’s Global Over 50s Housing Awards.
For more information about Abacare, please call 01443 742645 or visit www.abacare.org.uk. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook athttp://on.fb.me/Yn4zmS or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
