To respect the dignity of the person even in old age

1.1

The elderly person has the right to determine himself in an independent, free, informed and conscious manner with reference to life choices and the main decisions that concern him.

1.2

It is the duty of family members and those who interact with the elderly person to provide them with all the information and knowledge necessary for free, full and conscious self-determination due to their physical and cognitive conditions.

Examples and considerations

In old age we often enter into a shadow, apparently determined by health conditions and frailty, but in reality the expression of a prejudice of ageism, according to which elderly people no longer have the capacity for autonomous decision-making, as well as for management independent of his own life.

It is necessary to distinguish an assessment of physical or cognitive dependence from the presumed inability to make decisions, often transformed into implicit disqualification.

The fact that an elderly person has lost some physical and instrumental abilities to live daily life (washing, eating, using money, means of transport, etc.) must not automatically turn into a judgment of inability to decide, and be automatically replaced by the decisions of the family, caregivers or support administrator, abuses which occur for example when the elderly person is prevented from choosing the type and quality of food, from having their own identity documents or electronic payment.

1.3

The elderly person has the right to preserve their dignity even in cases of partial or total loss of their autonomy.

1.4

The elderly person has the right to be called by name and treated with respect and tenderness.

1.5

The elderly person has the right to privacy, decorum and respect for modesty in acts of personal and body care.

1.6

The elderly person has the right to be supported in their residual capacities even in the most compromised and terminal situations.

1.7

The elderly person has the right to access palliative care, respecting the principles of preservation of dignity, control of pain and suffering, be it physical, mental or psychological, until the end of life. No one should be abandoned on the threshold of the last passage.

Examples and considerations

The growing aging of the population, the evolution of the epidemiological picture and the progress of medical science make the need to guarantee elderly people adequate access to palliative care and renewed human, social and spiritual support increasingly relevant. As highlighted by the international reference literature, alongside the general elements on which palliative care is based (early identification, multidimensionality of assessment and treatment, continuity of care and individualized planning of treatment and assistance pathways), it is necessary to consider the specificity of needs expressed by elderly patients and the ways in which these needs manifest themselves.

In this sense, it must be considered that loneliness is always a harsh condition, but in moments of weakness and illness it is even more so. With pain it is unbearable; we prefer death to suffering alone. The request for euthanasia often starts here. Family members, social bodies, the community, have the duty not to delegate the needs of the dying person to the medical dimension alone, but to accompany him worthily and affectionately in the final stages of life.

1.8

Those who interact with elderly people have the duty to adopt respectful, honourable, thoughtful and courteous behaviour, to pay attention and pay adequate attention to the reports and observations made by elderly people.

Examples and considerations

A very widespread habit, especially in healthcare settings, is addressing elderly people in an impersonal and disrespectful manner. Calling the elderly person with falsely confidential names or replacing the name with an identifying number are two apparently opposite ways of relating, but both denote a lack of respect for the elderly person. This is a lack that often manifests itself in the lack of attention paid to the external appearance of the elderly person: the exchange of clothing between those assisted, the use of poor and impersonal clothing fall into this type of abuse.

1.9

The elderly person has the right to stay in their home for as long as possible.

1.10

In the event of lack or loss of their home, the elderly person has the right to access adequate economic benefits in order to have an adequate home.

1.11

It is the duty of the institutions to guarantee adequate services to elderly people in the face of particular physical and health conditions of the existence of architectural barriers.

Examples and considerations

The right of the elderly person to remain in their home, as well as to move freely in both private and public spaces, requires a growing commitment to the removal of architectural barriers, an intervention very often conditioned by complex and cumbersome regulations and administrative procedures, which in fact end up undermining people's right to mobility. The right to a home and housing must also take the form of the right to immediate access to a home at a subsidized rent in the event of eviction or homelessness. It is not uncommon for the occurrence of improper hospitalizations associated with economic causes or other social problems, which lead to personal suffering and inconvenience for the elderly and unjustified economic costs for the community. The lack of and inadequate support from social and health services often translates into an objective violation of the right to live in one's own home: think of the hundreds of thousands of elderly people limited by architectural barriers, the most common of which is the lack of an elevator. for those who live on high floors.

1.12

The elderly person has the right to the protection of their income and assets for the purpose of maintaining an adequate and dignified standard of living.

1.13

It is the duty of the institutions to guarantee the elderly person forms of income integration in the event of partial or total poverty or inadequate economic resources.

1.14

It is the duty of the institutions to guarantee the effective freeness of healthcare and social and healthcare services.

Examples and considerations

There are multiple and recurring abuses regarding the use of economic and patrimonial resources by elderly people. In this regard, the intervention of the support administrator does not always appear appropriate, and often turns out to be more of a moment of protection of the assets than of the person.

With respect to the financial guarantee of essential levels of healthcare, the use of social services by elderly people is strongly conditioned by the availability of adequate financial resources on the part of the body called upon to guarantee their enjoyment.

Furthermore, the social and health services provided by public institutions often fail to satisfy the care needs of elderly people, who are therefore forced to resort to private providers resulting in high and not always sustainable economic costs.

This entails on the one hand the opportunity to reform the income criteria to define economic support for elderly people, and on the other a constant commitment by children to take care of their elderly parents who are in conditions of poverty.

1.15

The elderly person has the right to ask for support and help from people they trust and choose in making financial decisions.

Examples and considerations

Especially when suffering from cognitive problems, older people need support to improve their levels of "financial literacy" in order to allow them to understand the legal and financial implications and make informed decisions about health problems, the death of a relative or moving to another country. a care facility. This is particularly important because it allows the elderly person not to lose control of their finances and to be as independent as possible in their daily life.

1.16

The elderly person has the right to receive adequate support in making his decisions, including through the appointment of a person he trusts who, upon his request, and in accordance with his will and preferences, assists in his decisions.

Examples and considerations

It appears increasingly necessary to make elderly people informed and aware of the right to be able to choose a person they can trust to make their own decisions and to look after their interests also with regard to crucial aspects of their lives such as health. The recent establishment of the figure of the "trustee" who can be indicated in the DAT (advance declaration of treatment) moves in this direction, a person who does not necessarily have to be a relative, nor the support administrator, but who can be freely indicated in the declaration. This choice could help spread its use more widely throughout the country and make the signing of declarations by older people effective.