Elderly woman dies at home but not found ‘for weeks’
THE body of an elderly woman thought to have lain undiscovered in her Auckland home for weeks is the third case in a month, according to Age Concern.
Police recovered the 85-year-old’s body on Friday morning in her house on Kelvin Rd, Remuera, and her death has been referred to the coroner.
Chief executive of Age Concern Canterbury Simon Templeton said it was ‘‘certainly not uncommon’’ for elderly Kiwis to go weeks without seeing anyone and urged people to keep an eye on elderly neighbours. ‘‘This particular woman’s mail box was absolutely full of mail – that’s a sign you should go and knock on the door to ask ‘is everything alright?’’’
Despite Age Concern programmes designed to help combat social isolation and loneliness, reaching people who weren’t reaching out themselves was challenging, Templeton said.
‘‘It’s hard for us to find them, so that’s where neighbours can play a role,’’ he said. ‘‘Even just knowing who is in their neighbourhood really does add a sense of security for older people. It’s that balance of not living on their door step, but not not engaging with them either.’’
Heart attacks and strokes were the main reasons elderly people died at home, ‘‘but when people fall then can’t get up, and don’t get found for a long time, that can lead to death as well’’, he said.
‘‘These deaths get felt throughout older communities.’’