Keeping people safe in a care home.

That does not sound safe at all

The home should have a safe guarding policy.

15 minute watching of the resident.
Referral to the Safe guarding team
1-1 care.

Just a few off the top of my head.

Doesn’t sound safe at all, sounds like he needs a more secure unit. Sometimes a patients condition changes, he may have been non aggressive and deteriorated so that he now is- but the staff should identify they cannot provide the care he needs and move him on. I guess it’s tricky though if there are no spaces available for more intense needs, where does he go whilst he waits.

I know this is controversal, hence the change of user name, but if the OP was assaulted why did she not call the police?
Why do we accept such behaviour from anyone?
I am sure the police would have sensible suggestions which might be a more secure home or a simple lock on his door.

I thought you could if a DOLS was in place? At the very least they can put him in a secure home or a secure part of this home. When people start walking around lamping others, they generally don’t get left out and about to keep doing it, regardless of age or capacity.

My gran was moved to a mental hospital from her care home for a short spell to stabilise her meds when she became aggressive with dementia. She was hitting the other patients with her walking stick when they were in bed to get them up. It was quite a sudden change in behaviour and she had never been aggressive before in her life.
She was 4ft 10 and 90 years old so unlikely to do much damage but she drew blood on one of the other patient’s head. I think it is quite common and their behaviour can change quite quickly. I would be happy if the care home management are dealing with it effectively now.

I wouldn’t call the police either - it’s not the patient’s fault.

i hope it works.

because if not it could well be your friend he punches in the stomach or face or whatever. Would she have capacity to tell you if that happens? It’s awful that our loved ones may have to live in fear in their “own home”.

Ok I’m quite concerned at several things here. The home staff should not have told you medical information about another patient, either after the incident or later on. Yes I think you should have been actively encouraged at the least to get medical attention at the time, perhaps the police. For the safety of everyone involved, including the violent man, these incidents need to be taken seriously. I think this home is struggling and being poorly managed and I would be either visiting more often with a view to gathering information, or escalating this incident now.

Your experience is very concerning, on multiple levels. Even if the attacker is an "old man with dementia", he could still kill someone. I remember this story about an elderly lady in a care home killed by another resident: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgpy8877pwo If a resident cannot control their violent behaviour, they need to be in a secure facility. The other residents are not emotional support punching bags.

A friend's father was in a home a few years ago and another resident would go into other rooms and get into bed even if the beds had people in them. My friend complained but just got a shrug from the staff. Apparently he was well known for doing it.

I've never understood why care homes don't have a door locking system that allows (non-violent) residents to get out of their rooms if they want to, while stopping others from getting in. Even the cheapest hotels manage it, and the staff have a master access card to allow for cleaning and emergencies.

You can’t just lock someone in, that requires a ‘deprivation of liberty’ agreement, but it does sound like the man needs more supervision, especially as the residents are probably very vulnerable.