Care Home Negligence

Stopping Care Home negligence

2009-04-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

An ongoing issue for our society. It is both shocking and detrimental for everyone involved.

Severe cases of neglect or abuse often crop up in the media that stun our senses and gut wrench our feelings.

Just hearing about these reports are enough to really effect us, but what must it be like for the victims and their families.

Loved once are placed in care homes because they need specialist care and are vulnerable.

Your loved one maybe disabled or elderly. You expect them to be looked after and safe in nursing homes. You don not expect them to fall victim of negligence.

How Care Home Neglect or Abuse can be prevented

There are certain regulations that should be in place to keep the residents safe. The care home is responsible for making sure all regulations are met.

The care quality commission www.cqc.org.uk provides these regulations.

Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their aim is to make sure proper care is given to everyone, regardless if they are in hospital, nursing homes, their own homes or elsewhere.

On their website you can download pdf documents outlining the national minimum standards for care.

Some of the basic standards of care that should be implemented.

Residents should always be given the correct dosage of medication that they require.

Sufficient food and water should always be available

Assistance with personal hygiene should always be offered when needed.

Health and safety should be in place at all times. The vulnerable will need extra precautions.

Assisted aids and mobility aids should be used where needed.

Those are just a few of the common sense guidelines that should be met.

If the care home makes sure all the regulations of basic care are met, care home negligence and abuse can be avoided.

Negligence in Care Home

2009-04-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately care home abuse and negligence is a growing concern.

It is both a sensitive and delicate issue that is often avoided out of fear or lack of education of the subject.

Who does the abuse or negligence effect?

1. The victim, elderly, disabled, vulnerable placed in care.

2. The victims relatives

3. Residents in the care home if the issue is not dealt with.

How to spot neglect or abuse

Although abuse and negligence can be defined as different things, they both have the same warning signs.

1. Sudden changes in the persons behaviour

2. Physical signs of injury like, bruises, cuts, burns, fractures or breakages.

3. Staff at the home refusing to let you see the patient on your own.

4. Lack of food or water

Those are just a few of the warning signs you should look out for.

What to do if you suspect negligence is taking place

Whether you are a relative, concerned friend or a care home worker. Your biggest problem will probably be the fear of getting it wrong.

What if you are right? It is our duty to protect the elderly and the vulnerable.

Even if the victim has had a fall, measures should be in place to prevent falls. Abuse or neglect can come in many forms.

If you feel you cannot speak to the nursing home direct, you can contact a specialist who will look into your concerns on your behalf confidentially.

Care Home Negligence

2008-11-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

Does Care Home Negligence exist?

Yes, the sad fact is that nursing home abuse does exist

According to the 2007 Laing and Buisson survey there are over 420,000 people living in nursing homes, where many elderly patients are fall victims of nursing home abuse. With numbers rising fast, you would be shocked at the extent of some cases of care home abuse. From medication abuse and improper dietary needs to horrific cases of abuse and negligence that are fatal.
Nursing homes can put the safety and welfare of residents in jeopardy by failing to maintain an acceptable level of care standards. If this happens then you need to act as negligence and abuse could be an issue.

If you suspect that care home abuse is taking place then you may be worried about reporting it. If you are concerned you can get lots of help from people who will tread carefully with such a sensitive issue as this.

Some examples of care home negligence

Failure to provide food or water or failure to prevent malnutrition or dehydration

Failing to help with personal hygiene

Failure to provide safe, clean and suitable living conditions

Failing to ensure patients with incontinent problems, have sufficient treatment and help

Failure to provide appropriate supervision and assisted devices to prevent accidents.

Failing to ensure each patient gets their correct medication.

Failing also, to prevent medication errors.

Failure to prevent a resident from developing pressure sores; or if a resident already has pressure sores, failure to provide proper treatment to promote healing of the pressure sores

When you make the decision to place your loved ones in the care of others you do so with trust but unfortunately this trust can be broken and it is happening to loss of families. So much so that there are now experts set up to deal with cases of care home abuse.

Nursing Home Abuse

2008-10-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Nursing Home Abuse is a serious problem that unfortunately does exist. It is that serious in fact that such cases of negligence have resulted in death.

When you think of a nursing home or a care home, you presume that it is a place where your loved ones can reside in safety. Many have struggled with the decision to place their loved ones in a Nursing Home and have not reached the decision easily. Thankfully the majority of residents are well looked after, however there are many incidents where this is simply not the case.

In this blog i am going to look at many aspects of care home abuse and negligence. Hopefully it will help relatives of those elderly whom suspect their loved ones are not being taken care of properly. I will try and help raise awareness of what constitutes care home negligence, what you need to look out for, and who you can turn to for help.