Old age is something to be celebrated, not endured and working among and for the older generation brings us face-to-face with various scenarios. As a matter of fact, a socially isolated 65-year-old with multiple health problems may require more support than an active nonagenarian with strong social and family networks. It necessarily follows that their needs and aspirations are as wide-ranging as those of any other social group. This leads us to stress further that, besides strengthening structures for the care of the elderly, we have to continuously think and act in terms of ‘active ageing’. The all-encompassing concept of an increasingly active population motivates my Parliamentary Secretariat’s plans for introducing new initiatives and carrying them out by means of a never-ending list of projects – be they legislative, administrative or logistic.

We move ahead in the belief that the attentive monitoring of and listening to older people gives us the power to make a significant contribution, keeping pace with their requests rather than their needs. Our efforts are further inspired by our unfailing commitment to ensure quality in everything we provide in full recognition of the dignity of the older generation.

 

Active ageing – not just a slogan

The opening of the Xewkija day learning centre last week is a clear example of our endeavours towards the implementation of this very important national strategy. We are constantly exploring every possible avenue to provide the older members of our community with what they deserve and not merely what they need. It is most satisfying to note that, in less than a year, we have managed to transform the idea of a tri-lateral cooperation agreement into an innovative service for older people. 

Local community entities are a social reality in our villages and their premises can be used for more than the usual cultural functions. Local councils also have a social mission towards the well-being of the community they represent, over and above their functions as local government. 

These two important local elements are at the very basis of our project in Xewkija. The government entered this agreement by leasing the Prekursur Band Club’s main hall and making it more accessible, and formulated a varied programme of activities targeting the needs of older people. We have roped in the local council to provide other assistance, including the necessary free transport for elderly clients on a regular basis. I insist that such centres are not merely bare meeting places, but offer all possible services for the elderly to remain active and acquire further knowledge and training with a basic view to experiencing a more fruitful way of staying active within their own community.  

 

Cooperating with the Church and the private sector

The encouraging response we received for this project is an acknowledgement of our attentive reading of current social demands, which come about through constantly listening to what our older citizens expect from the government and society. It also confirms the usefulness of public-private partnerships. In a similar fashion, my Parliamentary Secretariat has organised another day learning centre in Swieqi, which I also had the honour of inaugurating last week.

In Swieqi, the tri-partite agreement involves the Church, through its parish centre, the local council and the Department for Active Ageing. Both in Swieqi and Xewkija, elderly people will not only meet to spend quality time together, but will benefit from learning through educational and discussion sessions on social, civic and religious themes and topics.

These new centres, together with others that are in place and those that are being planned, are meant to be the way forward in this important sector. This is how my work as Parliamentary Secretary takes on a distinct discipline in that it expresses the skill and ability to work with and for older people. It assesses their expectations within the context of the same factors, affecting us all as a society, whether lifestyle and history, family or community. It also involves tackling head-on the mistaken perception that older people are in anyway being overlooked. They are, in fact, being involved and fully included in community life.

 

The challenge of dementia

Our wider attention to old people’s expectations also includes further response to their particular needs. Dementia is a condition that is afflicting an increasing number of older people. Apart from launching a national awareness campaign of this reality a year ago, including the introduction of the 1771 helpline and the setting-up of the necessary multi-disciplinary intervention teams, we have also set the pace in real terms to help the people with this condition. While securing and enhancing related services at the Dementia Centre at the St Vincent Long-term Care Facility, we moved on with providing 25 more beds for dementia patients at the Mtarfa Home for the Elderly. 

My Parliamentary Secretariat has moved ahead with a holistic strategy to provide tangible support in Malta and Gozo. An unprecedented number of workers in this field – well over 1,000 of them – have benefitted from intensive training courses. We have also held professional informative sessions for informal carers on a regional basis. We have now reached the final stages of opening a professional dementia centre in Gozo that will operate on a national level. Here again it is another agreement between the government and the Church at Dar Padova where, a year ago, we inaugurated a night shelter for older people. The new dementia centre will also operate as a day centre, where family carers can safely leave their relatives in order to carry out their daily commitments. 

 

Past inertia and our commitment

I must point out that, in the past, many expensive reports have been compiled but have seldom been translated into tangible, lasting projects. The political will and drive was either lacking or dragging its feet due to a total inertia. Labour’s election manifesto was very clear in respect of our fields of work in building a fair society and, together with my hard-working colleagues, I had to set a steady pace in order to deliver what the elderly and people with dementia had deserved for so long. 

We mean to be the drivers for change. We create the necessary methods and budgets to provide everything that is required, not only to promote the well-being of our older citizens but also to pre-empt their needs by being attentive and proactive. The new projects launched during the past week, and those that will take off shortly, are well-sustained due to bold legislative measures – particularly the recently approved bill to have a Commissioner for the Elderly. Everything is further supported by the further training of staff, particularly specialised training courses for assistant carers, in view of the pilot project for live-in carers that has already received a very encouraging response. 

As already stated earlier, we do not react to old people’s needs, but we commit ourselves to their human rights, providing the best support the country can offer. This has been and always will be my mission!