SENIOR citizens of Choiseul and environs want more affordable health care to alleviate their pain and suffering.
This was one of the loudest concerns expressed by a wide cross-section of seniors from southern communities when they met with the National Vision Commission at the Mongouge Club 60 Centre last Sunday, in the first of a series of dialogues between the Commission and Community Elders across the island.
Sunday’s Dialogue was well attended by seniors from La Pointe, Industry, Delcer, MorneSion, Fiet, Matin, Victoria, Morne Jacques, La Fargue, Reunion, Debrielle, and Choiseul Village.
Health care emerged as the top priority for the seniors, many of whom declared their inability to afford doctor’s visits and medication. Many of the Choiseul Seniors, who had worked as farmers and artisans, noted that as a result of having been self-employed during their working life, they do not receive a pension, nor are they covered by insurance to help meet or defray the cost of their health care, now that they are older.
There was a strong and unanimous plea to make health care free for seniors, to include doctor’s visits, medication and the ambulance service in Choiseul which costs $50 for the first five miles and $5 for every mile thereafter. It was suggested that government enter into some arrangement with the NIC to make the provision of health care free, or more affordable to seniors. The Choiseul seniors are also clamouring for better roads and vehicular access to the homes of the disabled, as well as better housing for senior citizens, some of whom are living in deplorable conditions.
The seniors also decried a change in the payment system of government’s Public Assistance Programme from direct payments to payments via bank accounts. It was noted that the majority of seniors don’t have bank accounts and some don’t even have birth certificates or ID cards, required to establish accounts. There was a strong plea for government to recognize exceptional cases and make payments to authorized caretakers of seniors to avoid further hardship for those seniors who depend on the programme. Still in the area of health care, concerns were expressed about seniors’ being exposed to the elements while waiting outside the Mongouge and La Fargue Wellness Centres on mornings. It was recommended that the Wellness Centres be opened earlier, to alleviate the stress on seniors – most of whom are unable to stand for too long. It was also suggested that covered shelters with seating be constructed to ensure a more comfortable wait by the seniors.
Increases in vehicle licence fees and the imposition of VAT were identified as sources of further hardship, eating-away at the already limited finances of older persons.
Among the seniors at Sunday’s Dialogue were retired teachers who called for major reform of the island’s Education System which they believe is too focused on academics. They would like to see a more balanced approach, with more attention to skills training, sports, the arts and vocational subjects.
Reflecting on their earlier years, the seniors remarked that “we lived more in harmony before, we were more caring, and, we seem to have lost that love and togetherness as a people.” They also lamented the lack of respect for elders, especially among younger persons.
Ms. Mary Pierre – Coordinator of the Mongouge Club 60 Centre was grateful for the visit by the Vision Commission to dialogue with the seniors. The facility was built in 1995, with assistance from the US-based charity Global Roots and the then Poverty Reduction Fund. The Centre provides personal care, meals and other special services to seniors in Choiseul and environs three days a week. Using a bus donated by CES, staff of the Centre also do home visits and distribute food hampers to seniors who are shut-in.
Ms. Pierre welcomed the Commission’s efforts to involve older persons in the National Dialogue. She says too often the powers that be do things for older persons without consulting them. According to her, this constitutes an infringement of the UN Convention on The Rights of Older Persons. In her words: “If we are making decisions that will affect older persons, then older persons should be part of that decision-making process.”
Pierre hopes the concerns of the older persons will be taken into account and acted upon within a reasonable timeframe, to make life a little more bearable for seniors, most of whom have invested the best years of their lives building this country, and nurturing generations of St. Lucians.