Care Home Staffing Levels

[lillyme]

I work in a care home for 21 elderly clients - I have 2 questions

1) We start 730am work till 5pm, should get 90 mins unpaid breaks. Theres no seperate staff area and we arent allowed to leave the premises so we eat in the clients dining room during hour off, this means if the other 2 staff are busy with a client that needs 2 people to lift/for mobility you have to answer the emergency buzzers or the door or the phone and the clients interrupt you too. The last 15mins of this break you have to fill out the care-plans - so its not like a proper break as its interrupted. Is this allowed?
2) Of the 3 day-saff that are on , one is deputy manager and in office etc alot and one does the tablets so the 3rd carries the workload ie getting remaining clients up and giving breakfast, making beds, doing the washing up as we dont have a washer-upper . Our Manager isnt in alot and when shes on holiday the deputy manager although not qualified takes over and isnt much good. Is this allowed?

[factor-fiction]

This thread is now under Law.

[pinktwink]

if you have concerns about staffing levels or patient care report it to the local home inspectors

[brenda]

How can they stop you going out on your break? I don't understand.

[lillyme]

Simple they tell you you can't go out - if you did it means the staff level in the building is too low.

1st break 12.30-1.30,2nd break 1-2, 3rd 1.30-2.30. As there are only 3 staff around and breaks overlap if 2 staff went out for their hour there would only be 1 carer actually in building for 30mins.Plus we have to do the care-plans in our break which takes 15mins.

[brenda]

Thank you for the explanation,so in effect you areonly getting 1/2 hour of break when you are free from being on call as it were for any emergence or crisis,

I don't know the regs for care home staffing levels but think your establishment in inadequately staffed.

What happens if one of the other two is ill in the break time and has to be sent home?

[lillyme]

Yes 30 mins during whole shift and that includes if you do the long 730am-9pm.

The 5-9pm shift has 2 carers. As does the night shift. If the daystaff go home ill they have used the cleaner to cover till another carer arrived. The manager n deputy manager take turns being 'on-call' for nights n weekends. It takes them around 90 mins to get to Home.

Workload and resident care wise I think it is under-staffed but am checking that out .Also I dont agree with only one carer doing meds for H&S reasons- both resident and carer wise.