600 old people die of thirst (todays headline)

[GabbyLoggon]

I would guess its about old peoples homes.

But I have not had time to read it in the Mail.

On friday in the D.E tab there was anothet puzzler "Police Afraid of the Dark"

This was a story about the police not policing a park

You do get some unusual headlines in the papers

I did Homecare for 9 months back in 2007 and the things I saw were horrible and scary!
Lots of old people were basically 'locked' in their homes and you could only get in by using the keysafe.
This was for their protection (wandering) but by god, these people had access to gas cookers and lighters!
One day I went into one home and the resident had tried to light the gas, could not find a flame and just left it on!

So glad it was summer and the boiler had not sparked or anyone had turned on a light switch!

One old lady was left in the house all by herself, just wandering around and I used to see her two evenings a week and she was always crying for her mum and dad (she was almost 100 yrs old)
One dementia sufferer would take off her soiled 'nappy' and try and wash it in the sink, almost every day.
God it made you heave!

But then, sometimes I went to new customers (to me) and they would ask me "Why are you actualy washing me?" "All the others just make themselves a cup of tea and chat".

It was a real eye opener and some were very nice and just needed a bit of help and others treated you like a slave
But what made me leave in the end, was the office telling me to bring my children along (aged 6 and 3yrs old) when I told them that I could not do a certain shift that I waas not even on the rota for

The railway jacket was significant for me Notaline because it meant so much to him, he was so proud of being on the railway, he remembered so little of anything :( but he had this and it was one of the only parts of "him" left and the bastards couldn't even manage to keep hold of a bright orange padded jacket Sadly he is no longer with us, he died about a month after going to the new home. I will never forget that they made his last christmas so shit - i blame them becuse they told us not to bring him home. I get so angry

Squeak!
Gabby, you responded! I feel like I should curtsey or something! < flaps piece of paper like fan >

Notalone - it really scares me too. I'd fight tooth and nail to not put my parents in a home but I know it's not that simple. And our children and grandchildren are going to have to bear the burden of our aging population.

Just to add a more positive note. My grandmother is in a nursing home since she had a stroke last year.My Gran is very "with it" and ha nothing but positive things to say about her home. She refers to it as "a hotel" where she is "waited on hand and foot" and "nothing is too much trouble". This is from a woman who is often negative.

The staff are great, friendly and supportive. They went out of their way to ensure her 90th birthday was cekebrated in style.

It's not all bad thankfully.

The ratio of staff to residents isn't always an accurate way of measuring possible quality of care. It depends upon how dependant those residents are. Nursing residents require a great deal more physical care then residential residents and many homes have a mixture of these two types.

A very high-up medical person of my acquaintance says it's not because staff can't be bothered or forget to provide drinks - in many cases it's quite deliberate because they don't want to have to take the residents to the loo. Horrible.

(High up as in leads their branch of the health professions, so knows what they are talking about.)

Brightlights - I am so sorry to hear about your dad and I am not surprised you feel so angry. Jeez , I feel angry for you, him and all the other old ladies and men in terrible terrible homes like this one. When someone has dementia the last part of the brain to go is the part that remembers the past. This is why so many dementia suffers can live at home for so long, because they are familiar with where everything is and what their routine is. However put somewhere else their lives become terrifying and unrecognisable which is why your Dads jacket was so so important. As a child of a railway man too I know the pride that used to exist back then working on the railways and it breaks my heart that they took that from him. It wasn't just a jacket - it was his pride and his identity. I hate the fact that there are so many uncaring bastards in homes like this. The caring ones are so few and far between and the wankers on a power trip and numerous.
Mrsflitternoop - Thank you for the articles which I have actually printed off for my degree. I am soon to be a qualified health professional and am determined I will never treat my patients in this way. I want to work in elderly mental health so this is so relevant for me.

Kenobi - I am terrified. I really am. I don't want to be old and have to go into a home. It is such a scary prospect!

Ripeberry -

Hopelessly - I am pleased there are some good ones out there

bloody scarey, so glad my dear old dad had a couple who took it upon themselves to make sure he was cared for, so sad for people who have no one.

"Gabby" there's really no need for that "Gabby" in practically (if not every) post of yours, or are you trying to suggest you're not male (in which case that idea would quickly fail).

While you claim to be no expert on the technical aspects, there's no actual need to be (else 99.9% of postings would not have been made, the whole idea is that contributing is easy, and won't be a problem so long as some rules are followed). You can, however, take a bit of time looking at the topic areas and you would find there's a section called "In the News" which would seem to be the ideal place (as you bring it up as being a news item, rather than a personal concern).

That was a quick note, for info, because I can go on at some length...

I wonder if anyone who works in elderly care has an opinion about what the Health Reforms will mean for elderly people

On the face of it, I'm wondering if the fact that GP will have control of budgets and services, will be a good thing for the elderly, because older people must form a substantial amount of their lists.

Oh leave off Gabby. He is not malicious, and starts some interesting threads (and strange ones)

The proportion of older people in GP lists must be exactly the same as the proportion of older people in the population as a whole.

So unlikely to be a reason in itelf for older people to get better care if GPs look after the budgets.

And edam - i can quite believe what you say. I volunteered as a teenager in a dementia care ward where some residents did not wear knickers so it was easier for the staff to "toilet" them. I has been a really big regret to me that I never reported this to anyone - was not assertive or clued-up at the time.

eveiscerate - logically that's true - but old age brings with it more medical problems so more visits to the GP - that's what I meant, sorry, not clear of me

Jamie, sadly I reckon a lot of stuff doesn't get reported for those reasons, or because members of staff and relatives are worried about the repercussions. And because the regulator apparently refuses to investigate complaints according to that link further down (to the Independent article).

Not too sure GP commissioning will make things much better. GP practices don't always look after their local care home residents very well now (after all, someone is providing the scrips for all those inappropriate anti-psychotics). And care of the elderly in residential homes isn't going to be high up the agenda of any new GP commissioning group as far as I can see. Much more dramatic decisions to be made about shutting A&E and maternity units or entire hospitals in order to save £20bn under government instructions.

More likely all the disruption will make things far worse - provides more opportunities for things to go wrong.

Mnmm yes. Older people and their relatives simply have no political clout.

I think that edam is correct, more opportunity for things to go wrong, but at least from the Government point of view when it does go wrong the government can blame overpaid GPs rather than take responsibility for it.

I work in a nursing home and when people die or go home after respite we get letters from family thanking us and telling us how great we are. Please don't tar us all with the same brush!

We work like dogs and get paid a pittance for it.

I have no doubt people do get dehydrated and die from it but have you ever tried to make a toddler eat something they don't want to ? Well imagine trying to persuade a determined man to drink somethig he doesnt want to. You can only be so persuasive before you are being abusive. Everyone has a right to decide if they want to drink or not. We offer offer offer and of course help people to drink if they need it, we chart everything, we know it someones not drinking enough but at the end of they day if someone doesn't want to drink you can't force them.

I read that a lot of old people won't drink because they hate that they need help with going to the toilet - and worry that the help when asked for, will come too late.

Many old people don't drink because they are scared of falling over on the way to the toilet, or because they need help Huw - that is correct. The problem is that if they don't drink then they are more likely to develop UTI's which then can cause confusion and dementia like symptoms. I have seen many elderly people who are confused and are suspected to have the onset of dementia leave hospital as lucid as they come and fully cured of UTI's. Sadly many go home and repeat the episode. If they fall at home they may not be able to access help, may break bones etc which is very real and very frightening to an elderly person who lives alone

I saw the headline today and I'm glad you started this thread Gabby, whatever section you chose to put it in.

Like you, I'm getting on a bit and I've told my children I don't want to burden them with my care in the future so I am willing to stay in a care home. But my DD works for the NHS in a caring role and has told me this will never happen as she has no confidence that I would be looked after in an acceptable way.

Very sad and worrying.

Ripeberry - I experienced just the same. I can honestly say that 80% of the people I visited couldn't believe that I actually washed them, tidied up, hoovered, made their bed etc. etc. It appeared to me that lots of carers simply turned up, sat down, signed the book and then buggered off. Of course the time slots were impossible to work to and I ended up doing an hour overtime nearly every shift. Of course you don't get paid for that. However I became so close to many of the wonderful people I met that I honestly didn't care.

Working in a care home was so depressing. The women in charge were vile - absolutely vile. They did not seem to have one ounce of compassion for any of the clients. I often hope they end up in the same position one day.

The few good carers I came across were, like myself, desperate to get out as the working conditions enforced by the care home or care agency were so horrendous that washing an old person or even cleaning up after an 'accident' was the least of our worries.

I will never allow my parents to be 'cared for' by anyone but myself.

You haven't the time to read the article? but started an AIBU about it?

YABU

Worzsel - of course there are good care homes and good carers. The staff at my Great-Aunt's home were lovely.

Problem is that there are far too many that aren't even acceptable, let alone good. Sadly that is what my Grandmother experienced, after my stupid Uncle moved her from a decent one. And we have a system which tolerates and enables shitty horrible undignified treatment that breaches all social care/medical/nursing ethics and the Human Rights Act.

It's also true that some elderly people choose not to drink sufficient amounts. And that support can only be taken so far ? if someone who is able to make a choice and has all the support they need actively decides not to drink enough, that is their choice. However, that is very far from the whole story. There are plenty of elderly people who are being abused. Sadly and disgracefully.

My mum worked in a care home for a while. She hated it as the other staff just didn't give a fuck. They used to tie up the call bells so the old people couldn't reach them. Mum reported this, and was forced out of her job as a trouble maker. The last week she was there, an old lady fell out of bed trying to get to the toilet as no-one was answering her bell. She broke her ribs and died. Tere was an enquiry but no-one was disciplined in any way. A few years later the home closed down. It almsot makes me glad my father died aged 63 of a heart attack, at least he didn't have to go into one of those places. My mum says she would take an overdose before she would go into a home.

My husbands granny died a couple of years ago aged 96. She had dementia and was in a home. Her family paid for her to go into a private home costing over ?900 a week, she was there for over 15 years. It was clean, and the staff seemed kind, but it was very basic looking, only a couple of pictures allowed up on the wall. I wouldn't want to live that long, and if I was in that state I'll be off to Dignitas while I still can.