Caring for the Elderly

[emmie]

There is a Panorama programme on this evening i believe, about caring for the elderly. More importantly the uncaring, often hostile environments many elderly seem to live out their days, I have just finished reading
the woman's story of her mother, who was physically abused in one care home. I won't be watching the programme, but why is it that there are not more checks on these homes. The daughter secretly put a surveillance camera in the room and was shocked to her core at what she witnessed.
The man concerned has gone to jail, but how many more like this, and what can ordinary people do to make them safer for their nearest and dearest.
I have a relative in a care home and know that he has suffered at the hands of his so called carers, and the police have had to be involved

[emmie]

looks like there are a number of similar threads, sorry if that's the case, but wondered if anyone had any thoughts..

[4getmenot]

when cqc inspect the homes. They know who's inspecting and roughly when. Those kind of carers are hardly going to do it infront of anyone.

[emmie]

i understand that, but this woman has now put 4 surveillance cameras in her mothers room in the new care home, and the staff know that, so any shenanigans will be recorded. It's terrible to think this could be anyone of us in years to come..

[cathfromsaron]

seems like inspections are box-ticking shams!

awful story, and i won't be watching either!

[emmie]

it's too close to home at the moment, and having seen something similar a while back not sure could handle it.

[4getmenot]

unfortunately there will always be things that get past cqc. And what about families that abuse their relatives. Its all very sickening. I am part of a large health care company and what i have seen on news today shocks me.

[emmie]

sadly it doesn't shock me, but i do feel that more could be done to protect the vulnerable elderly.

[Gavmacp]

I think there is a lot you can hide from the CQC. It really comes down to the management of a nursing home. We have senior managers that visit where I work but never walk through the places where we care for the people. There is a lot you can pick up by just walking by and looking.

[emmie]

what gets me, and as i mentioned that i have discovered first hand how easy it is, is how the perpetrators can remain in their jobs, or are moved to another site, to me that is just condoning the abuse.

[Gavmacp]

Also very little education taught to staff of how to promote good practice.
Something that can quickly happen is how quickly we dehumanise the people we care for.

[bambiboo78]

If someone is proven to be negligent or abusive in their role as a paid carer they won't stay in their jobs they will be prosecuted by the police & suspended then sacked by the home if found guilty, also if someone is found guilty they will never be able to work in a caring role again, quite rightly. However sometimes as it's vulnerable people who are usually abused by these spineless cowards the perpetrators aren't always found out, why ppl do this kind of work if they don't have the patience is beyond me, we all have inpatient moments but the point of being a professional is finding the right channel for the impatience i.e. vent in the staff room, go for a break, think the problem with care homes is that the staff are overworked, undervalued & badly trained..saying that though that is never an excuse for abusing a human being, most carers thankfully are dedicated in my experience.

[gina32]

cqc dont always say when they are visiting and any good home will have training and the like, funny how you dont see programmes about good care homes!

[emmie]

it seems that to many it's just a job, and those i have come across were incompetent, lazy, and indifferent.

[bambiboo78]

Always wonder though why more people don't look after their elderly relatives at home there are options in the community so home carers get a break, of course it isn't always practical & looking after elderly people is a difficult task, i don't agree it is just a job unqualified nurses get no more money than factory workers or retail assistants these in my opinion are less stressful options, i have complete respect for the people who work in care homes most of them are hardworking people who are undervalued & criticicised heavily due to actions of a very small minority

[pastafreak]

I worked in the kitchen of several homes-and must say that I never saw any questionable practice. What I did see(or didn't) was that the owners/managers frequently had no interaction with their clients-the people who they were being paid to provide care to. If those in charge never have friendly,casual conversations with the clients and their families-then they may remain in the dark over what *may* be going on behind their backs, and reality of the kind of people they are employing.

[emmie]

In an ideal world we would do just that. But if your mum or dad developed dementia, they wandered off, or became a danger to themselves and others, what do you do?

[4getmenot]

after the last panorama programme on healthcare we had loads of service users ring up and send compliments as they felt that that programme shouldnt give all care homes a bad name.

[ladyalex]

bambiboo78
Have you ever looked after an elderly relative in either your home or theirs ?
It can be very rewarding, but it can also be exhausting, frustrating,even infuriating.
24 hour a day care is no joke when there's only one of you...or even two of you.
Community services can be excellent, but no matter how much care is provided, there is always much much more to do.
It's no picnic.

[bambiboo78]

Exactly in an ideal world we wouldn't have to use these homes i just think that the majority of the people working in them do their best & get very little reward for there very hardwork..if it's difficult keeping an eye on a relative with dementia imagine looking after at least 16 people with dementia..feeding, bathing, making sure they are safe, with usually only 3 other people helping you do it all for the princely sum of £6,50 an hour, think the managers usually often open these homes purely to make a profit with little thought for the residents and staff.

[bambiboo78]

ladyalex

I completely agree with you, but i also think care workers get an unfair deal, i haven't cared for an elderly relative at home & i don't think on my would be able to cope alone, i was a student nurse on one of my first placements in a nursing home & what i saw was very well meaning carers doing their best in a difficult situation. If my mother ever developed dementia i do not think i could cope with her at home so i'm not judging but like i said it's not easy been a carer in a home either, although i agree there is never an excuse for the abhorent behaviour we have seen on the news recently