On the Greek island of Chios, a Bulgarian carer has been charged with abusing an 82-year-old woman with dementia. The case - which shocked the Greek public - was uncovered through hidden-camera footage installed by the victim's family after they began to suspect something was wrong.

This isn't an isolated case, even though it's often presented that way. Across Europe, elderly care is a low-margin industry that runs on international labour, minimal background checks and, often, too little oversight of what actually happens inside private homes. A Bulgarian woman in Greece, a Polish woman in Germany, an Albanian woman in Italy. The names change, the model stays the same.

Why? Because families who can't personally care for their elderly usually don't have a choice. A care home is expensive - 2,000-4,000 euros a month in countries like Greece, Italy, Spain. A live-in carer at home is far cheaper, usually 800-1,500 euros. And it's the family that pays that price - while the level of vetting drops to almost nothing.

For Balkan families - more and more of whom are looking for options for their elderly because the children live abroad - this has to be a signal. A hidden camera in the home isn't a breach of trust - it's protection of a vulnerable person. When you can't be there yourself, you need a way to see what's going on. The technology lets you do this for under 50 euros for a system with remote access.

For the woman on Chios, this discovery came late, but not too late. The case has begun proceedings on her behalf. The question we should be asking on the Balkans is the harder one - how many of our parents and grandparents are now living under the same kind of regime, regardless of whether the carer is foreign or local, and with no oversight at all? That question is difficult. Which is why nobody wants to ask it.