Lonely deaths of elderly prompt soul-searching

SYDNEY - They were five lonely deaths and only discovered because of the stench of decomposing bodies.

The realisation that someone can die in their Sydney home unnoticed for months has shocked Australia's biggest city.

In the past 10 days, the bodies of five elderly Australians have been found in their loungeroom or bedroom. The latest two, a couple in their 80s, were found in their apartment on Sydney's affluent north shore.

"What sort of a heartless society can it be in which elderly are so irrelevant and unimportant that they can die alone and unnoticed, unmissed for months on end?," asked the Daily Telegraph. "A society like ours, obviously."

"We have to come back to being a community, not only those that surround the older person living by themselves to make sure they are not isolated," said Lillian Jeter, spokeswoman for the Elder Abuse Prevention Association.

Sydney's radio bristled with discussion on whether the city had become mean spirited.

News of the deaths coincided with media reports that four elderly women suffering dementia, one aged 98, were allegedly raped while being cared for in nursing homes in Victoria.

- REUTERS