Government Moves to End ‘Free’ Placement of Elderly at Fiennes Under New Aged Care Law

Children and relatives who register elderly parents and loved ones at the Fiennes Institute could soon be required to pay toward their upkeep, under a new mandate expected in the Aged Care Bill that Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin says will be brought to Parliament in 2026.

Speaking on the final day of the 2026 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Monday, Sir Steadroy said the measure is aimed at tackling what he described as a troubling pattern of abandonment and neglect of the elderly in Antigua and Barbuda.

“Too often we’ve heard of persons going and taking their parents, not looking after them at all,” he told lawmakers, as he signalled that the forthcoming legislation will seek to make families financially accountable when they leave relatives in state care.

Sir Steadroy also recounted a case he said has troubled him for years, describing a daughter who travelled from the United States, removed her mother from the institution, took her to the bank to sign documents “leaving everything to that daughter,” then bought her food and returned her to Fiennes before leaving the country. “That has to stop,” he said.

The Attorney General argued the government can no longer continue carrying the full burden where families are able but unwilling to assist.

“Those people who leave their parents there to Fiennes will be made responsible for their upkeep. We will not allow that to continue anymore…That is cruelty…your own parents…What has become of us in Antigua and Barbuda?” he asked, while indicating that colleagues would work together to get the legislation done.

Fiennes Institute is the country’s main publicly operated residential facility providing institutional care for older persons.
The institution has had longstanding challenges: there is no established admissions criterion, and the facility can be misused when relatives place older persons in government care “free of charge” while using their pensions or assets.

Some elderly persons are abandoned, including cases where relatives do not take them home after hospitalisation or leave them at the front gate.

Sir Steadroy’s proposed “subsistence” payment requirement mirrors these concerns, effectively shifting part of the cost of care back onto families who are able to contribute, while the state continues operating the institution as a safety net.