Carer stealing toilet roll

[tulipsrus]

Who does this?
Family member has Alzheimer's and we have a company that come and check on him. Just recently set up a camera for an extra check( in case he wanders)
Carer left with toilet roll under her arm
So angry

I’m a career absolutely report it. Gives us all a bad name.
If she’ll do this, what else is she doing.

I’m not a career I’m a carer.

Obviously stealing from anyone let alone a disabled elderly person is wrong but she may have felt that she had no other choice

Good point. She should have emptied his cupboards and his wallet while she was there as well.

Report to the agency. By email and copy in his social worker if he has one.

If you don't, it will continue and escalate.

Also, the trust will be gone so request this carer is not sent back to him. The company employs the carer, they can decide what action to take in line with their disciplinary policy - you or the Local Authority pay them to manage their staff so you don't have to do this.

Money, jewellery or toilet roll.

Theft is theft.

Please report

Maybe she's desparate. It's still not ok, but I'd think carefully about what steps you take next. Can you speak to her first without involving her employer?

WTF. Swear some users on MN could get stabbed in the eye and still make excuses for the perpetrator.
This carer STOLE something from someone she was supposed to be caring for. It doesn’t matter whether it’s loo roll or a wad of cash, it’s the principle!
Not everything can be excused!! Doormat posters piss me off.

She should have emptied his cupboards and his wallet while she was there as well
Absolutely! Then she could say she was ‘desperate’ and ‘had no other choice’
Cue violins

Could the carer have asked if they could take one?

@StinkyWizzleteets asking an elderly patient with Alzheimer's is not better. If they need care they may not be able to give informed consent or they could just feel under pressure. Not ok to ask.

Stealing from people you're caring for is stealing. It dies t matter what it is or how much she thought she needed it. It's stealing from a vulnerable person and she should be sacked.

Could the carer have asked if they could take one?
Absolutely not its an abuse of your position to try to gain something from a vulnerable patient. Just asking and making an excuse as to why you are asking could make a person feel guilty enough to give something they cannot afford to give or something they cant easily replace.
Anyway asking a patient wirh dementia who is probably not aware of current events is even worse!

Maybe she's desparate. It's still not ok, but I'd think carefully about what steps you take next. Can you speak to her first without involving her employer?

Wtf? Yeah give her a heads up she has been caught doing it to your relative but she can still do it to.others who dont have cameras and nobody will know. Whst else is she stealing?

We've looked at the footage a bit more carefully

I think it looks like kitchen roll and not toilet roll!! But we can't say for sure. It's tucked under her arm. None of us can remember how many toilet rolls or kitchen rolls he had, he now has two.

She didn't really do the full 2 hours. About 10 mins short.
And it was someone new and they are supposed to tell us if it's not his regular girls.
He wasn't showered or changed, but with anyone new he'll refuse.
It's possible it was a last minute fill in

There every chance she said can I take one of these and he's said yes, we will never know.

She left him in his coat(they went for a walk) which is not the biggest deal in the world, but it meant that after a snooze he's woken up in his coat and thought he was going out, so he wandered out.

No, it is a big deal. It's basic dementia care. Please tell the care providers. It would be better for him to wait longer for a carer than to have one that makes him unsafe.

Yeah, I meant it might not sound like a big deal but for a confused patient it should be pretty basic not to leave them sitting in their coat

Sounds clueless as well as preying on the vulnerable tbh.
Complain and say she isnt coming back.

I really wouldn’t quibble over 10 minutes on one occasion - there will be a visit at some point when he needs an extra few minutes and you'd want him to be given it. If it's happening regularly, then it does need bringing up.

Instead, you need to report tasks not being done properly, like being left in his coat, and explain why it's important.

Bear in mind that genuine misunderstandings occur - the carer may have asked him and he'd said he wanted his coat on, without realising how he would interpret this later.

Regarding the fill-ins, we've noticed they started during the week, but only received a letter today explaining the measures being taken due to cv19. You need to cut the agency some slack about deploying different staff at the moment. If the regular staff are unwell or self-isolating, you wouldn’t want them there anyway.

The managers who would normally have called you are probably absent or out doing care visits themselves, so it's probably on you to let them know in advance if you'd prefer to cover the visits yourself if the regular carers aren't available.

None of that excuses taking a client’s belongings though.

Sounds like an awful carer and a thief to boot.

Phone the police and the army.

Can you speak to her first without involving her employer?

Why? Theft should be reported to the employer to investigate properly, what is the point of approaching her directly. She'll either lie or day she is sorry but she really needed it as none in shops. Both are unacceptable, more so working with the vulnerable.

So we've spoken to the company, but they just have a skeleton staff in at the weekend, so not usual contact in the office.
Asked who was coming today as we didn't want the carer from yesterday. They asked why and we said there were a few reasons but the main one was leaving him in his coat which meant that he left the house.
They confirmed it's one of his usuals for today.
Will discuss the toilet roll incident with the proper manager tomorrow.

Have you checked to see if she came in with the kitchen roll, I presume to dry her hands after washing perhaps?

The video of her coming in isn't crystal clear, but unless she's got it stuffed up her coat, she didn't bring it in with her.
She's not expected to clean and she came in a car so not like she bought them on the way.

No-ones turned up yet today

I would expect a carer to wash hands on arrival and dry them on kitchen towel - my 94 year old's carer does this.