And she identified four problem areas she said must be tackled if the welfare of the island's elderly is to be improved ? but said Government showed no sign of facing up to the challenge.

Mrs. Jackson spoke out after her opposite number, Health Minister Patrice Minors, reported on a joint "initiative".

Speaking in the House of Assembly, Mrs. Minors said her Ministry was working with the National Office for Seniors and Age Concern "to collaboratively work towards addressing elder abuse in Bermuda".

But the Minister gave few details about how the initiative would work, other than to say the partnership was formed "to better protect and reduce the risk of harm to seniors, increase awareness, prevention, and intervention effectors throughout the community and within responsible advocacy".

"The proposed measures are necessary to ensure that Bermuda's seniors are treated with respect," Mrs. Minors said.

"We need our seniors more than ever to continue to serve as leaders, mentors, volunteers and active members of society. Accordingly abuse of seniors should not be tolerated by any society."

Yesterday an angered Mrs. Jackson condemned Government's treatment of seniors as "window dressing".

"Where are the solutions?" she demanded.

"They have come forward with this but they aren't offering any solutions ? they need a reality check."

The four areas of concern Mrs. Jackson highlighted were:

Homelessness

The need for legal advice

Poor medical care

Poor standards of care in nursing homes

"In the last three or four years homelessness has become an increasing problem and it does affect seniors ? we have seniors out there living rough and everyone knows it," Mrs. Jackson said.

"The Government knows about it and just expects the Salvation Army and Fern Wade to deal with it. We need a solution which is quite simple ? to provide a temporary shelter to get these people out of the bushes."

Mrs. Jackson said she receives dozens of calls from seniors looking for legal advice but cannot afford a lawyer.

"They have problems such as a child trying to take their home away from them," she said.

"But they can't afford a lawyer and getting legal aid is a lottery. The solution would be to have an ombudsman who can talk them through the process and Government should make sure people have a place to go for advice."

Mrs. Jackson said she had been calling for a seniors medical clinic for a number of years, arguing that most ailments suffered by the elderly require specialist treatment.

And she once more took aim at the island's nursing homes, saying standards of care were poor in many.

"There needs to be a regulatory body that carries out inspections and makes sure certain standards in homes are maintained," she said.

Referring to the Minister's statement, Mrs. Jackson said: "There's nothing in this that is going to make life better for these people ? it's the most insipid and weak statement I have ever seen.

"People might think that seniors are well-off because they own their own homes but if you go in you find that they're having to cook with candles because they can't afford gas.

"So many of our seniors need basic food, clothing and shelter but all we seem to get out of this Government is the fact that they are fed up with the Salvation Army ? there's absolutely nothing concrete in terms of solutions."