If people had not realised just how serious an issue care for the elderly was in Bermuda, they did after they learned about the shocking case of Auntie Em.

Around a year ago, a professional carer discovered the 95-year-old partially blind widow living in horrific conditions, with cockroaches crawling across her skin and on her food in a vermin-infested property — a suspected victim of psychological and emotional abuse by her adopted daughter.

When her plight was highlighted in The Royal Gazette in September this year, it prompted anger and disbelief across the Island — but the fact six fresh cases were reported to authorities within one week of our article suggests Auntie Em was not alone in her suffering.

Now, with the General Election less than three weeks away, elder abuse — and how to wipe it out — is one of the key challenges both political parties are facing up to.

Age Concern Chairman Paget Wharton said: "It's a factor, it's there, it does take place. The proper authorities need to look at it."

Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Wayne Perinchief says the Progressive Labour Party began working on new legislation designed to protect seniors from elder abuse months before Auntie Em hit the headlines.

Louise Jackson, the United Bermuda Party's spokeswoman on seniors who says she has long been fighting the cause of many elder abuse sufferers, argues Government has done too little, too late.

She has been calling for laws that can see abusers taken to court and fined or incarcerated.

Mr. Perinchief pointed to Bermuda's Elder Abuse Register, announced in March, which allows organisations to scrutinise potential employees to determine whether or not they have a record of abusing pensioners, and steps up scrutiny of the credentials of people working with the elderly.

He said if the PLP wins the election this will be followed by legislation allowing Government officials more access to senior citizens, letting them intervene in situations even if elderly victims are reluctant to point out their carers are abusing them.

The Minister acknowledged there was currently a gap in the law, with officials sometimes unable to act if emotional or financial abuse is not deemed criminal, but said he hoped the proposed new legislation would change that.

Mrs. Jackson said: "There are so many cases of elder abuse in Bermuda today that are going unreported. Seniors literally being held prisoner in their own homes; bank accounts being stopped by people; having their jewellery stolen; some are being beaten.

"So many are afraid to report to the Police. Auntie Em is a case in point. It's been one of the most powerful examples of how elderly abuse can happen right under the nose of families, the church, the community in general."

Claiming Government had left it too late to put forward new legislation, she said: "To my mind it is almost laughable."

Responding, Mr. Perinchief said new legislation was usually prompted by a "triggering event".

"It was generally not recognised in Bermuda, because of the close-knit society, that there was elder abuse. This Government moved to answer the problem."

While Auntie Em is an extreme example of what can happen when elder abuse is left unchecked, the Island's rapidly ageing population means there are a host of issues which need to be tackled.

The number of seniors in Bermuda is expected to double to reach 22 percent of the population by 2030, and places in care homes will need to be stepped up dramatically more than the next two decades.

The $25-million Sylvia Richardson facility in St. George's opened earlier this year, to complement Lefroy House in Sandys.

But with a bed-blocking crisis at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital — where more than 100 patients are taking up beds even though they don't need acute care — it seems many pensioners currently have nowhere to go.

Mrs. Jackson said the rest home situation had been "shamefully neglected", claiming Sylvia Richardson could not operate at full strength because it did not have enough staff, while Lefroy House has still not fully recovered from the devastating impact of Hurricane Fabian.

Mr. Perinchief said Government supports the building of more rest homes, including facilities for elderly people living independently such as the Rockaway project.

Mr. Wharton said families needed more help to ease the burden of caregiving.

"Long-term care on average in Bermuda is about $7,300 per month," he said. "If you get to the age where you need care in a substantive way, the expense is debilitating to families. In many cases, the family just can't deal with that.

"We need to get our heads together about the issue of long-term care insurance. Families need to have a way to deal with this without going through unnecessary worry."

Marian Sherratt, executive director of the Bermuda Council on Ageing, stressed the importance of family caregivers.

"This is the person who helps the seniors stay in their home. They are absolutely pivotal to keeping seniors in their homes as long as possible — the backbone of our care system," she said.

"Where we struggle in Bermuda is that we don't have sufficient services in place through Government to provide support to the caregiver. They are carrying a disproportionate burden."

Mrs. Sherratt called for legislation to provide more flexible work arrangements for family caregivers. In response to the global shortage of professional caregivers, she said more training opportunities should be provided to encourage Bermudians into the profession.

Mrs. Jackson said Government's insurance scheme, Health Insurance Plan, was not supporting pensioners enough, allowing them, she said, $167 a month and four doctor visits a year.

Mr. Perinchief said Government was now looking at an insurance plan which would be more comprehensive than HIP.

Mrs. Jackson said she believed the current pension scheme was "not working". Legislation passed earlier this year was supposed to address an imbalance discriminating against many black soldiers who served in the black branch of Bermuda's armed forces, while doubling war service pension benefit from $400 to $800 per month.

However, months later some veterans claimed they were still waiting for their payments.

Mr. Perinchief said Government was teaming up with Age Concern for a widespread survey of seniors to find out exactly what their needs are.

"We want to interview every single senior. We will keep going out until we have got a database that covers every single senior in Bermuda," he said.