HELP is desperately sought for a malnourished and neglected man living on his own at a Glenesk old age home.
Pioneer Park Old Age Home residents demand help with the care of 70-year-old Brian Jones who they claim, has experienced some of the most inhumane treatment over the years.
The residents claimed Jones did not have adequate care although his pension was being managed by one of the caregivers at the old age home.
They alleged Jones was found on Monday – smelly, and covered in maggots which the home quickly cleaned after they heard that the residents were in contact with the Courier.
Upon arrival at the home on Tuesday morning, Jones was in a frail state. He was trembling. The residents claimed it was because of the pain from his leg injury. The unsightly image of Jones saw some of the residents refusing to go inside his shabby home because they were afraid of maggots.
The Courier went into his hollow home to find a few empty bottles of beer, a blanket on the floor and some shelves with worn out shoes. Jones stared at the Courier journalist with a look of despair.
One of the residents, Premila Reddy, said the state Jones was in was atrocious. She said the caregivers who were responsible for Jones’s pension received it but she questioned where the money went to.
One Tuesday Jones’s room was without power and Reddy said this was one of the reasons immediate action to help Jones was needed.
SHOCKING: The feet of 70-year-old Brian Jones. Photo: Gopolang Chawane
“This man can’t even stand up on his own.”
She said Jones was in a severe state which needed urgent attention.
“Find a home that will help him is what residents are asking for.”
The residents said a Meals-On-Wheels initiative was supposed to be caring for Jones.
They said it was shocking to see the state Jones was in considering he had a pension managed by Meals-On-Wheels caregivers. A caregiver of Meals-On-Wheels, Elize Geldenhuys, who admitted to being in possession of Jones’ SASSA card, said she was prohibited from being in contact with Jones as of Wednesday, a day after the Courier visited Jones.
On Wednesday, Geldenhuys who initially admitted to taking care of Jones under Meals-On-Wheels, said she took care of Jones in her own capacity. She would give some of Jones’s pension money and groceries to Eugene Long, who would cook and feed Jones every day because he [Jones] could not walk or take care of himself.
Admitting Jones suffered from a case of dementia she said he was not well and would often bite her when she attempted to wash him.
“We would just put him in water with his clothes on but he refused,” implying that was the reason for his lack in hygiene.
She noted the blisters on his feet and said Jones refused any form of medical help.
“I even said I would buy him a bottle if he would just get help,” Geldenhuys said.
Since she was no longer allowed access to Jones, Geldenhuys said she had given his SASSA card to a gentlemen named Willy who was responsible for maintenance at the home.
Attempts to contact Willy were under way at time of print.
Geldenhuys said it was her Meals On Wheels manager, Vicky Sepp, who had instructed her to stop seeing the 70-year-old Jones.
The Courier contacted Sepp who said she was well aware of Jones’s condition.
Sepp said their mandate was to take care of people who could not help themselves.
“We deal with a lot of cases and we want to make it clear that Elize operated in her own capacity in dealing with Jones.”
She said she did not want any negative publicity linked to the Meals-On-Wheels programme which had suffered bad publicity before.
She said the programme helped and offered care to people who could not take care of themselves.
“He is in hospital at the moment and we have instructed Elize not to be in contact with him as she’s become too close to him.”
Sepp said Jones would often eat from the floor.
She admitted he was in a state, with maggots often crawling around him, due to the fact that he would often urinate and soil himself.
She admitted help was needed.
Asked why Geldenhuys was prohibited from having access to Jones, she said Geldenhuys would not be punished for ‘getting too close’ to Jones and later added that Jones was on his death bed.
Another resident, Palmer Clarence, said the ill treatment of Jones dated back years. He said Jones had received some of the worst luck ever.
“Years ago Brian was in an accident and he received a payout of thousands from that injury, but he never saw some of his money.”
Clarence said Jones’s health had deteriorated because of the treatment he’d received over the years.
He claimed Jones’s appliances had been looted – one by one – by people who were supposed to be taking care of him.
When the Courier left, Jones was trembling attempting to move back into his bed and almost fell on the floor.
It was some of the residents who came to his aid and put him back to bed.
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