Anyone work in a bupa --care-- home?

[brightyoungthing]

Hi, I've worked in one for a couple of years and have come to really hate the money grabbing company! Anyone else got any experiences good or bad, or have any of you got family in a bupa care home? I'd love to hear all your experiences.

[alypaly]

nearly put my mum in one til i went for a tour. It was badly run...the manager had lots of christmas cake in her room which was supposed to be for the clients(as she told me) and she waqs eating it. The home was smelly and very understaffed... got out as fast as i could.

[brightyoungthing]

I don't blame you!! Bupa run on minimum staff levels to keep the budget down and paper work is prioritised above care. I hope your mum is happy where she is now

[alypaly]

bright....she was happier where i eventually got her and then got her to a private nursing home...a Barchester home where she sadly went to sleep for ever. i fought for the best for her and hope i achieved that after many a heated discussion with social services bigwigs about care standards. You have to constantly fight for good care. I can recommend a fantastic private group to work for...Its Maria Mallaband

[brightyoungthing]

I'm glad she was happy/ier in the other home and I'm sorry she passed away. Care standards need a massive shake up that's for sure. Where I work we have 7 residents per 1 carer and it's an impossible situation and if it wasn't for us going without breaks then things would not get done. Often we can't get to people to get them washed and dressed before lunch, it's appalling but apparently we are working with the correct amount of staff! I'm stuck there at the moment until I pass my driving test as it's only a short walk away but when I can I'll find something else, Thanks for the info

[alypaly]

my mum fell at her residential home and broke her hip...strangely noone saw her fall despite it being in the lounge. How odd!!!!!

Strangely her dentures got broken 3 times,and noone knew how it had happened despite the fact she was unable to take them out on her own....and she was bed ridden yet the broken teeth were on her vanity unit ,out of her reach. I do wish people would own up to mistakes and breakages..it makes you wonder what else they hide.They also dropped her tv and said they didnt know how it had fallen even though she was bed bound..... most homes are the same, they need some press exposure to show how neglectful they are. They cover up their mistakes and bad management. I ended up going in daily at one point to make sure she got food and drinks. She was always reallly thirsty when io got there and was unable to hold her cup alone. She had to have thickener put in her drinks as she choked on fluids...but there were neverenough staff to give her a drnk with a spoon. I often stayed to feed her and change her.

My son is doing a weeks work experience in one at the moment and he said the care is fantastic. Medicines given on time every day....client staff ratio is excellent...no public room is ever without 1 or 2 members of staff. Whatever the nurses need, the owner supplies.it is also spotlessly clean too and the food is superb and well presented...and hot!!!!!!!

[brightyoungthing]

The home your son works in sounds amazing, that's what my home was like before bupa took over. I will also admit to breaking a residents tv once It was on a very slippy table and I knocked it slightly(it was placed a foot away from the front of her wardrobe)and the bloody thing slipped off and almost broke my foot! I admitted it straight away of course and a replacement was bought though not by me as it should have been secured to the table. We have no staff in the lounges as we are always in the residents rooms answering call bells, and trying to make sure the residents on thickened fluids get enough intake is a nightmare as we never have enough staff to do it. In the evening there are only 2 of us to serve food to 20 residents, 7 of which need feeding so as you can imagine supper time lasts for ages. I can't understand how nursing homes can get away with such low staff numbers and I've often considered going to my local press in the hope something may get done.I'm going to leave the care industry for good when I can drive as I don't want to be part of it anymore and actually feel embarrassed when people ask me what I do. Our elderly and infirm population deserve so much better

[alypaly]

they really do deserve so much better...they are all human beings no matter how poorly they are.Unfortunately they get reated as if they were on the scrap heap or already dead. the amount of heated discussions i had with my mums home initially was frightening. I told them their care plan was a joke,that hteir staff didnt care.They were always so sullen.I used to think, if you dont like the job,why do it. These people are someones mum or dad....how would they like their loved ones treated like that???? grrrrrrrr. Their food was always cold.Many a time i heated it up before i gave it to mum so at least she had one hot meal. many a time my mum was left in wet and soiled clothing. Mind you when she broke her hip the hospital was even worse. The nurses put her nightie which was covered in faeces in her bed side cabinet....not even in a bag. And there were patients in that ward who had had major surgery. Its a wonder they didnt all die of infections!!!!! I am disgusted with homes and hospitals which was why i looked after my mum 24/7 for 8 months(til i virtually collapsed)

I even ended up cleaning out a filthy fridge in one of the communal areas on my mums unit in the home,as it was growing black fungus.I eventually asked for a new fridge on the grounds of health and safety...but it took ME to write in for them to get it. All the plastic inner was cracked and it stank of sour milk constantly. Food that relatives brought in was put in this filthy fridge and rarely got to the relative.

Dont get me started ,i have a list as long as my arm
Unfortunately for them they had me to contend with and i called for a meeting with about 8 officials to complain...i was scared to death that they would throw my mum out,or treat her badly when i wasnt there. I have seen so much mental cruelty from carers, it appauls me. I too considered going to the local paper. something definitely needs doing as the home owners are so greedy.

[brightyoungthing]

You've reminded me of when it was policy to put urine and feces samples in the staff room fridge until I went berserk one day! I may speak to some relatives who I know are not happy and see if we can come up with something. It's dodgy though because we have to outwardly support the decisions of the home so I may get sacked. I'm proud to say we all love our residents and often buy them treats and things out of our own pockets, and try to spend an extra bit of time to pamper them when we can but I realise this is just glossing over the real problem of the lack of staff. I'm sick of telling people that they have to wait for the toilet. Sometimes for 30 mins but only because we have another 5 on commodes ! You sound like the type of relative we'd love to have as you stick up for what is right!

[liebchen]

I don't work there. Mum is in one. Desperately trying to move her to a better place. This Bupa home has been clique and more controlling than management.
Very institutionalised and I would dread living in a place like that.
Residents are bored and sit there most days looking miserable. Staff pay better attention to visiting relatives than they do for their old folk -
I am disgusted with how complaints are dealt with and even moreso how nothing ever changes - The name BUPA seems to eradicate even the slightest possibility of anything other than' Bupa give excellent care' PHoooey :(

[kilmuir]

bupa took over the large home I worked at. Awful, halved the cleaning staff, got rid of kitchen help at meal times, reduced laundry staff hours at weekend. Therefore hardly any clean towels, sheets etc. Good quality staff left.

[Zhaghzhagh]

I don't usually look in this forum however I'm in the process of finding somewhere for a very close member of family. This has really shaken me up.

[FuckerSnailInYourHedgerow]

Bumping, so sad to read this.

[Helensbabies]

My Mum is in a BUPA home and I've had no end of problems from bedsores to not being fed and have had tonight all the way to sort it. If you're considering a home don't choose BUPA!!!!!!

[Helensbabies]

That should say fight all the way not to tonight!!!!!

[IShotJR]

I worked at a Bupa care home in Reading. Hand on heart,i thought it was a really good home. Some of the carers were rough and lazy but after 15yrs in care i have yet too not feel saddened by some of my work colleagues.

I will happily name and shame Four Seasons Healthcare though. I wold not leave my dog there.

[IShotJR]

*Would

[Jdaniels]

I work in a Bupa care home. It's a rip off!! They are always short staff that when people want the loo they are left shouting because they are desperate. It is all about paperwork and as long as that is correct the people don't matter. The staff don't get treated well either. We do not get lunch or a staff room and we are not allowed to go off the premises in our breaks. We gave big wheelchairs that we have to lift to turn round a corner but where is duty of care to the staff and their backs????

[steviegirl]

I too work for BUPA and am amazed at how a well known company can get away with such poor standards! The home I work at is covered by agency staff much of the time, regular BUPA staff are leaving at a rate of one a fortnight because of the working conditions, poor rates of pay, blatant bullying by management, I could go on. I wouldn't put my mother in one of their homes!

[ChorltontheHappinessDragon]

My late father was in a BUPA care home in an affluent Cheshire village and having looked at many very dispiriting homes before I settled on this one I was hopeful that things would work out well. Not so.

There is a real "fur coat and no knickers" dimension to many of these places, especially at the top end, with lovely reception areas and chandeliers masking a "profit before care"mentality. Recruitment and training is key, and in our case the staff was a very mixed bag, with two or three excellent nurses and care assistants (all of whom have since left) and some absolutely dreadful ones.

My father suffered abuse, particularly by the night staff, who would ignore his calls for assistance. One ripped his call bell out of the wall in anger; another two ignored his pleas for pain relief, forcing him to call me (thank goodness he had the capacity to do so) in the middle of the night for help. They also made some near fatal errors of judgement which led to an emergency admission to hospital where he remained for three months. Inadequate staffing and training led to poor hygiene practices, and my father ended up with MRSA.

Everything is done on a shoestring: for several weeks there were hardly any teaspoons in the building; trays and crockery desperately needed replacing; they never had enough stock of thickener for those on modified diets, putting them at risk of choking or aspiration when they ran out; broken items weren't fixed, cleaning was minimal (my father's stained sheets were still on his bed when I called to collect some of his belongings while he was in hospital, three weeks on).

I could go on but hopefully you get the picture. Do not be seduced by the appearance of a care home; look beyond the chandeliers; talk to the visitors if you can; quiz the manager; take advice from social services/your gp/hospital nurses; be a strong advocate for your loved one. The system is very broken, but we often have no choice but to use it. There are some good homes out there but you need to be diligent and wise in your choices and even then monitor care very carefully. A big brand doesn't automatically mean quality.

[phantamfixer]

I have worked in one in Stowmarket Suffolk for 3 years and I have to agree 100% with what you say. We as care assistants get paid £6-21 ah hour regardless as to whether we work days or nights, and yet in Ipswich they are paid One Pound an hour more. There is no night rate, unsocial hour rate, or weekend enhancements.
There is no sick pay and staffing is at a minimum
We are a Residential House but nine tenths of our so called residents need more help than we can give them so are in affect under cared for
The House is run to the convenience of the staff which means getting up, putting to bed, and toileting are done at times that suit staff not residents, meaning that some people are got out of bed as early as 05-15 regardless to what they may want

The food has gone down hill due to cuts in budgets, housekeeping is almost none existent, maintenance is poor and we always run out of personal pads before the end of the month.

We as staff have no support at all from seniors, we are not listened to, and at times criticised for our opinions.
Considering how much BUPA get paid each week per person, what the residents get in return is disgusting

I would not recommend the home I work in to anyone

[DramaQueenofHighCs]

I used to work in a BUPA care home - I had three jobs there: Activities, Kitchen and cleaning!! (impoverished student taking all 3 as holiday jobs when needed!)

For the most part the home was lovely, well run and the staff really cared about the residents; however a lot of the staff couldn't speak English very well and they were paid an absolute pittance! We also got a few who did the bare minimum for their pay, but thankfully not many.

The thing I found is that the home was as well run as it could be but for the most part, you pay peanuts and you get monkeys - the staff really did seem to be split between those who were working there because they really cared about the residents and didn't care about the shit pay and those who were just desperate for a job and couldn't give a toss! (I happily resided between the two, I LOVED some bits of my job but, especially the nastier cleaning bits I did for the money! I did however work to the best of my ability at all tasks no matter how horrid they were. I did get commented on a couple of times when I spent my cleaning breaks talking to the residents but I loved it.)

I'd love to go back in to care work one day, especially of I could get a job as a 'hobby therapist' specialising in dementia care but I doubt I'd ever work for BUPA again because they just don't pay enough or give enough perks (though where I used to work threw great Xmas parties!) - I get better BUPA health insurance with my current job then I did when I worked for them FFS!!

[DramaQueenofHighCs]

Phantam if you're not worried about 'outing' yourself too much, PM me - you may work where I used to! Lol (though I think management has changed since then....I hope, as your description isn't what I remember if it is the same place!)

[DramaQueenofHighCs]

Jdaniels surely you had a training programme for how to sadly lift/manage big heavy wheelchairs!?!? I know where I worked (mind it was about 10 years ago now) we had a dedicated on site training officer who trained us in such things. I'm a 'slip of a girl' but pushed many a heavy wheelchair with little to no damage done to myself!!

Blimey, BUPA was bad enough when I worked for it, it seems to have gone even more downhill now!!