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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be incredulous at this..

33 replies

gremlindolphin · 23/02/2013 19:23

...we are generally very happy with the care provided to my Mum at her Nursing Home but I find it symptomatic of the current problems in both the food and caring industries that when she asked for a boiled egg for breakfast recently, she was brought an egg in a cereal bowl because they don't possess any egg cups!

We have now provided an egg cup for her but today when she asked for a boiled egg for breakfast, the catering assistant said she wasn't sure how to cook a boiled egg but would go and see what she could do! She returned with a boiled egg, accompanied by one of the main cooks to see if the egg was cooked - it was extremely hard boiled. (not at all suitable for the dipping of bread soldiers!)

Mum asked the Cook if he really didn't know how to boil an egg to which he confirmed he didn't. This is an experienced member of the catering staff in charge of catering for the daily dietary requirements of 30 elderly residents - wtf?!

Basic skills and common sense are obviously not being passed on/taught and to my mind are resulting in the mess we are in today.

OP posts:
mrsbunnylove · 23/02/2013 19:26

my mum's nursing home have disconnected her alarm bell so she can't ring in the night if she needs a drink.

bearing in mind she can't swallow properly and has at the most three thickened drinks, a bowl of thickened soup and a tiny amount of porridge in a day, i think that is pretty cruel.

so i'm not surprised at all. nothing would surprise me.

quoteunquote · 23/02/2013 19:27

Find a better place, if they can't be bothered to employ someone who can cook, get the elderly to eat, can be difficult, so needs skill.

I would of given them a lesson, my nine year old can make soft boiled eggs, it not hard.

quoteunquote · 23/02/2013 19:28

getting

willesden · 23/02/2013 19:31

With the salaries given to care home staff, they aren't going to get Gordon Ramsay working there. Or anyone who knows how a hob works. The money is shit, the workplace stinks of bodily fluids and the hours suck. These people are heroes in my opinion, and thank God for them.

ElliesWellies · 23/02/2013 19:31

Very, very odd.

Having said that, perhaps they are worried about soft-boiled eggs for the elderly in the same way that pregnant women are often advised not to eat them? Which seems a bit paranoid to me, but there you go. But to say he didn't know how to do it? Strange.

SucksToBeMe · 23/02/2013 19:36

Where I work, we have no teacups. Ir tea clothes,spoons, only one smelly stained pillow per resident. I could go on and on, it's upsetting tbh.

Rhiannon86 · 23/02/2013 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

MrsRajeshKoothrappali · 23/02/2013 19:37

I've worked in many a nursing home where the food is inedible.

I've also seen staff with no common sense pour a bowl of cereal, put the milk on, make the cup of tea and then stick the toast in the toaster. Result: Soggy cereal, cold tea and toast - yummy!

Hmm
Original poster
gremlindolphin · 23/02/2013 19:46

Food is the only issue we have as the staff (esp the senior nurses )are generally lovely, static with not much turnaround so we and Mum get to know people, it is incredibly clean and doesn't smell at all, lots of activities and talking time, interaction between residents and very welcoming to my family incl the dog etc, we do treat it as Mum's home.

All these things I think we are entitled to expect as Mum pays £1,000 a week for this but I think this should include an egg cup and a cook who knows how to boil an egg!

We have also had the soggy cornflakes, cold toast senario MrsRajeshKoothrappall!

Thats appalling mrsbunnylove.

No mention of soft boiled eggs and h&s etc.

OP posts:
KatyTheCleaningLady · 23/02/2013 20:00

Quite honestly, after reading some of the other posts in this thread, I'd say if badly boiled eggs are the only complaint with the place, YABU.

It is a shame that they can't soft-boil an egg. Perhaps you could talk to the cook and tell him or her how to prepare one and hopefully they will try their best to do it for your mum.

But, don't be a bitch about it if they're willing and decent people who treat your mum with respect.

expatinscotland · 23/02/2013 20:08

The cooking staff might be foreign and honestly not know how to cook a soft-boiled egg.

GrowSomeCress · 23/02/2013 20:11

£1,000 a week

Shock really?!

ThePinkOcelot · 23/02/2013 20:15

Along with the egg cup you provided, perhaps you could also supply with cook with an egg timer?!

IneedAsockamnesty · 23/02/2013 20:15

Willesden.

The minimum the staff get paid will be the NMW.

If the place smells of piss they should fucking well clean properly

Lucyellensmum95 · 23/02/2013 20:16

you know i was about to say how terrible it was but your second post changed my mind - i would have sacrified a hard boiled egg if my father was treated properly in his "care" home. What you describe sounds like some some sort of utopia compared to how my dad was treated :( We got him moved in the end but not without the mother of all battles.

mrsbunnylove that is totally unacceptable, please report this to your local council and care directorate - don't bother with SS they will be useless and not interested.

Lucyellensmum95 · 23/02/2013 20:22

willesden the people who "looked after" my father didn't deserve minimum wage even - bunch of bloody useless slags is the best term i can use to describe them actually.

If you have a job, you do the job properly and be bloody grateful you have a job. If you are doing a job caring for people then you have a bit of bloody respect and treat them with dignity.

The folk in the second home my father went to were all from other countries and were the most wonderful, caring folk who i have ever met. Thankfully hopefully homes like the original home my dad was in - oh so lovely, see view room Hmm are in the minority.

OP i woudlnt accept the egg situation, lots of old folk love nothing more than a boiled egg (end lots of young folk, me included but not hard boiled). Your home sounds lovely otherwise so i would be letting management know your concerns.

Original poster
gremlindolphin · 23/02/2013 20:52

Katythecleaninglady - don't think I am being a bitch - just surprised!

Growsomecress - yes really £1,000 a week! All the new cut offs etc won't help mum either.

thepinkocelot - yes egg timer would be a good idea!

Lucyellensmum95 - I agree that I think we are lucky with where Mum is. I will follow up the egg thing with management as I think they are a quick, cost effective and nutritious meal.

OP posts:
KatyTheCleaningLady · 23/02/2013 20:55

gremlindolphin: I don't think you're being a bitch! I'm sorry that I came across like I did. I have no idea what tone you used talking to them. I just think that if they are asked really nicely, they may learn to soft boil eggs.

zoobaby · 23/02/2013 20:56

Mrsbunnylove you need to report them to the council or the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which is like Ofsted for care homes. That is totally dangerous and downright disgraceful.

Lucyellensmum95 · 23/02/2013 21:03

yes thats it the CQC - we had to resort to that with my dads home, they visited after my dad left and made "recommendations" and the home had to pull its finger out. It is so wrong that there is such a difference between one home and the next.

One of the mums at my DDs school told me she worked at this particular home and went on to tell me about this "old bag" who used to throw poo - like it was some sort of funny story - my DP had to dig his nails into my arm and said, "well you know, maybe she had dementia" (like my father) I just walked away from her - to be honest, i don't think i will be able to speak to this woman again.

Chiggers · 23/02/2013 21:17

As a former care assisitant, I was always told that I should treat the residents like I would treat my gran. I had the utmost respect for the residents I cared for in their final weeks/days/hours. I kept them clean and fed, as well as preserving their dignity when being bathed or washed. I had a good laugh with them to make their final weeks/days/hours as happy as possible. I listened to them and did my best to help them sort their problems and sat with them and their families when they were on their final hours. I even went as far as to give other carers a bollocking if they didn't treat the residents with respect.

The real payment I got was compliments from the residents and getting a smile out of them was reward enough for a hard and often thankless task. Just knowing that I had made someone happy was so uplifting.

CombineBananaFister · 23/02/2013 21:21

wow - feel genuinely shocked. Me and my husband are trying to cope with a G.GP with dementia (late stages) and a blind G.GP and are getting to the stage where a home seems the only solution but I would'nt sleep at night based on these stories. I don't think YABU. Just because OTHER care homes are so much worse doesn't mean you shouldn't expect standards for the phenominal amount you're paying. I hate that the basic comon demoniator devaluates the acceptable level of care Sad

Chiggers · 23/02/2013 21:21

Sorry folks, I meant to add that I would expect and caterer/cook to be able to boil an egg. OP, I think you should get a bok about how to teach idiots people how to cook basic meals.

Chiggers · 23/02/2013 21:24

book not bok.

Chiggers · 23/02/2013 21:37

Banana, where I used to work (over 12yrs ago now), a room with a sea view cost £600-650 per week and a bog standard room, with no sea view, would cost £450-550 per week depending on where the resident was.

I gave my old nursing home a call to see how much it would cost to put my beloved MIL there. I got a quote of £600-700 per standard room and £800-950 per sea view room. The prices seem ridiculous, but when you factor in that there is a nurse there 24/7 for pain relief if needed, carers on hand to take the residents to the toilet throughout the day/night, food can be got if a resident misses a meals and is hungry later on and those are just a few duties among many that the residents have at hand for their money.

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