ACT Policing and the ACT Ambulance have issued a combined plea for residents to look out for their elderly neighbours after a series of recent incidents.
In a recent incident a 57-year-old man was found deceased after several weeks in his Bonython home. He died of natural causes. It appears no-one attended his residence during this time.
In another incident, a 70-year-old Kambah man was found in very poor physical condition in his Kambah home after a visit by Centrelink officers on July 2. The man was transported the ACT Ambulance Service to The Canberra Hospital but died later that evening.
More recently, police, firefighters and ambulance attended a Curtin residence where an 89-year-old woman had fallen inside her house sometime in the previous day and was unable to summon help. Emergency services were required to force entry to the house to provide assistance.
Officer-in-Charge of Tuggeranong Police Station Sergeant Rod Anderson said that these recent examples call for checks on people’s welfare, particularly those more vulnerable in our community.
“Welfare checks are a regular part of police duties but we need Canberrans to keep an eye out for those vulnerable people in their immediate community who may, from time to time, need help,” Sergeant Anderson said.
“Emergency services are usually the first to attend such matters. What we don’t like to find when we arrive is a vulnerable or elderly person who is very sick, highly distressed or worse.
“If you have an elderly person that you know, is in your family or living alone next door, please make the effort to check on their welfare from time to time.
“From a police and emergency services perspective, that sense of connectedness to others in your immediate community — whether it’s within your apartment block or local area — can only make for a safer community.”
Kosciuszko National Park celebrates 80 years
*savethehighcountry View
Leanne Parry I've seen them everywhere I've travelled... kinda all over the park. Can you tell me… View
Tod Davis yep you're right here... how the F did 'heritage horses' ever get through?! View
Morrison sought help from a Canberra doctor for anxiety medication while PM
No sympathy from me View
You wouldn’t laugh if you have been through a mental health crisis. View
Like the flog that he is, using his own health problems to promote himself, in this instance his new… View
Pocock says tax concessions for landlords can be reformed and still protect existing investments
Is that true? I thought the majority of property investors buy new apartments and houses and claim… View
Elf, Seeing as the vast majority of property investors buy existing properties rather than new… View
“ It’s bizarre we allow properties to be bought up by residents of countries that won’t let… View
Community batteries to store solar energy coming to Canberra’s suburbs
RiotAct readers my have been puzzled by ''anthropomorphic'' , as I was. I found this explantation… View
The photo shows the unit before the local aimless youth tag it with graffiti. Anyway, 400kWh storage… View
Technically, actually about 30,000 or so little batteries, about the size of AA battery cells, all… View