To think that one rotten care home is not the only one ...

[Wuldric]

Story about Orchid View here.

My Great Aunt is in a care home. It is her third, and the best one. The other two were dreadful. Her clothes get muddled, they don't come when she rings to go to the loo, the food is diabolical, one of the nurses is born again and insists on trying to convert her, her room is pokey ... Fortunately at the age of 97 she is still compos mentis, is continent and doesn't need medication. But if she were incontinent, she would be left wet/dirty. For sure. If she needed medicating, they would get the dosage wrong. If she had dementia, no-one would even know ...

This stuff goes on day after day. It's not just one care home. It's all of them. It is a scandal and a disgrace.

[Strumpetron]

If you need a chat about potential places or anything you've seen just drop me a PM!

[Madratlady]

I've worked in elderly care in a hospital or home for 8 years now.

My current home is divided into 'units' and I am in charge of my unit on the days I'm on duty. We have 20 residents, many of whom are very dependent on staff to meet their every need. The care staff I have working with me on days are all fantastic, kind, caring people. The residents are well looked after and record keeping is good so that we can always look back and check, for example if someone is eating or drinking enough. We've had some staffing issues but everyone pulls together to get everything done and everyone's needs met. Staffing issues are being addressed and now we're usually fully staffed the carers can and do go the extra mile. Also, and probably most importantly, the residents preferences are met.

I do think a lot can be said for the staff being good at their jobs though, if the carers that had been recruited were lazy or uncaring then it would be a lot harder to make sure that standards of care remained high.

I did work at another care home for a while but it wasn't very nice, corners were cut and staff were so focussed on routine that getting things done came before the residents. I didn't stay long.

[Strumpetron]

The routine thing! My previous work place was regimented! Everything HAD to be done by a certain time. How can this happen. People can't control their bodily functions, people don't feel hungry or thirsty at whim. I often got told off for not sticking to it but there's no way I'm rushing a person into doing something they don't want to do.

Some of the women had worked there for 30 years and absolutely loved being called 'old school', refusing to accept new ways of doing things and continuing their institution bs.

[lougle]

Even one is too many.

[expatinscotland]

And people think living a long time is a good thing.

[cakebar]

My mother has advanced dementia, double incontinence, has to be fed to avoid choking etc. She is at home. She went to a home for respite care once and ddad says never again.

I care for her just one day a week and I couldn't care for more than maybe 3 people like her at a time, and that would involve some of them waiting in their own mess. It can take an hour to feed mum. She takes as much care as a very difficult baby. In a nursery you have ratios to protect children, yet these do not exist for older people. That is shocking. With the best people in the world it is impossible for small numbers of staff to give quality care to large numbers of older people.

[timidviper]

In one of my previous jobs, some years ago, I had to go and visit care homes and was regularly saddened and sometimes appalled. In one home I was told to fuck off when I queried something. I raised my concerns about the home with CQC and was told the home was already under investigation but it was months later before anything was done and meanwhile the patients were left there. Meanwhile the home owner moved to have a lovely lifestyle abroad, leaving poorly paid staff to run the home. It is wrong that some people profit from keeping others in a poor state.

Another home I visited (never saw anything horrendous there but always had a "sense" about it possibly due to the smell which could make your eyes water) has recently been closed by CQC after some time in special measures. I dread to think how bad that must have got

The sad thing is that the quality of life the residents have is often very low yet we fight to extend that life. I am not an advocate of euthanasia but wonder if we have got the balance in this wrong, my aunt spent the last 6 years of her life after being resuscitated after a stroke wishing that she hadn't been as her quality of life was so compromised.

[pastelmacaroons]

I worked in one too and was horrified and it was supposed to be such a good one. I stood there once listening to the relatives of a lady who was in there all saying to each other as they left things like ": didn't she look well, she is so happy".
the poor lady was lonely, stuck in her room alone for most of the day until an hour at lunch when they were raced out of their rooms and it was a sprint to a cold horrid lunch.

it looked nice and the staff seemed to be chatty and friendly and it control. the only way you will ever know if its any good is to work in it first. see behind the scenes.

Food people brought in for relatives was put in fridge by that staff member then she went off shift and another lady came in who knew nothing about it - person never got it.

Gerry Robinson did a really good program about it all.

[pastelmacaroons]

timidviper

a lady once told me she had very good nursing qualifications and had to work as care assistant as it fit in better with her current lifestyle.

she worked in nursing home with bad conditions and one day as soon as she walked in and saw one resident she had to call the ambulance as she recognised one lady was in severe dehydration. Yet the owners turned up in Bentleys.

I think each and every nursing home and places for people of disabilty need to be opened up.

Like trip advisor we need really clear and open channels to tell each other what's going on. Its the only way to stop abuse.

Staff must be able to whistle blow in safety, and each home should have a clear feed back on line. And possibly cameras.....

its a secret world where the "customer" is frail and vulnerable.

Can you imagine being frail and in pain, and in bad hands and being scared to say anything because once your relative has gone, your left alone with your possible bully, abuser...or just the person who forgets to bring you a drink!

Utter Maddness

[Strumpetron]

A lot if places seem to just ignore or not be able to recognise the signs that something is wrong. I came on shift once and at handover they reported that a woman's face had fallen on one side and her speech was muddled - a sign of a stroke. I asked if we'd heard back from the hospital about her, wrongly assuming they'd called an ambulance. I went in her room and they'd left her sat in a chair.

It makes me sick it really does.

[pastelmacaroons]

Once they are in the home they are usually de humanised and seen as literally " old folks farm"....to be made money out of.

Seriously the Gerry Robinson program showed a few where they are set up by people who genuinely care for the elderly...but some it was obvious the owners didnt give two hoots about the old people!

Do we expect them too?

I think any of us could set up a home, how many will do it to really provide great care or turn a fast buck.

The body supposed to monitor homes isnt fit for purpose, people are scared to whistle blow, the " customers" are frail, or have dementia....people think - its just how it is....

Its pretty much un regulated free for all.

[Strumpetron]

Even when people do whistle blow sod all gets done about it. Unless you take a video and send it in to Panorama no one gives a toss :(

[pastelmacaroons]

yes i know.


everything is too vague and hidden.

it needs to be brought above board and into the light.

you should be able to choose a care home like you choose a hotel on trip advisor, based on other peoples reviews.

then you know where to shove your old folk. .

only THAT will make the greedy owners actually start to do something about standards of care because.....if people could choose, then, the bad ones will start to get less customers!

[moanalot]

There's a lot that work in care homes who shouldn't be in charge of dogs no mind people. But saying that there's also loads that do a fantastic job and go above and beyond what they have to do. Why is this job deemed so unimportant that most of the careers are on minimum wage. At one time it was just too easy to get a job in a rest home and basically just about anyone could get taken on with no checks made or anything. It's a lot harder now and most employers want to see references and proof of previous experience. That's how it should be... but there's no decent wage to reflect this experience. Why should they expect to take on an experienced carer with years of experience and not pay them a fair wage. They're getting upwards of £500 a week for each resident, not bad when you consider a pensioner manages to survive on less than £200 a week in their own home.

[Tiredemma]

I've worked in care homes. I will only say that I hope and pray to God that I die before there is ever a need for me to be placed in one. Hell holes.

[Strumpetron]

Agreed moanalot. I started off as an apprentice on £2.63. I don't even think there should be apprentice care assistants to be honest. Once I passed my NVQ I got £3.53. I was sometimes working 17 hour days because if I didn't it meant one of our service users going to the hospital on their own

I realise I've posted loads in this thread but it's something that is close to my heart. I'm training to be a nurse and want to specialise in elder care because they're a much neglected part of society. We all deserve so much better. People shouldn't have to worry about their family. People shouldn't have to suffer neglect and abuse when they're paying thousands. It's so sad.

[Fishandjam]

Xiao, yes there is - Coverage Care. My mum is in one of their homes (advanced dementia) and the care is superb. Something that particularly strikes me is how low their staff turnover seems to be.

[Bingdweller]

Thank The Lord my gran is in an amazing NHS long term care of the elderly ward. We cannot fault the care or dedication of the staff. The Ritz it ain't (think Florence Nightingale ward, dated decor) but the care is second to none. It was recently her 93rd birthday and the staff made it such a special day for the family whilst undertaking their other daily work. We as a family, are grateful on a daily basis for the love and care shown to her. I wish it were the same for all vulnerable patients in a similar position.

[Fishandjam]

cakebar, I don't think you're right in saying that there are no ratios of staff to residents in care homes. The one my mum is in definitely has a higher ratio on the EMI units, to deal with the challenging behaviour that the residents might present with. I don't know if this is a regulatory thing or voluntary on the part of the home, but nevertheless. Plus, I don't think all care homes are permitted to take EMI residents - certainly when I was trying to find one for mum, most of the ones I called said they didn't have EMI facilities.

[Strumpetron]

A lot of time ratios are thrown out of the window and a lot of homes take EMI without having adequate resources to deal with someone with conditions that need more support.

[PomBearWithAnOFRS]

The thing with the EMI units - I know that the home I worked in was classed as a "retirement" home, and was not a "nursing" home, precisely because with nursing homes there are rules about the ratios of qualified nurses/medical practitioners to residents on each shift.
With a retirement home, those don't (or didn't then, in the 1990s) apply. Thus none of the residents were incontinent, even if they "had a little accident" every hour on the hour all day every day and none of the residents had dementia, they were "just a bit confused today" or "overtired today" - even the ones who had full blown dementia and were violent/heartbroken/desperate to "escape"/terrified and so on :(
They weren't the only ones suffering needlessly though, the very few "ordinary" residents, who actually had just wanted a bit of extra attention/help and an emergency buzzer, also lost out as the staff were so busy dealing with the people who WEREN'T incontinent/suffering from dementia/helpless that they were neglected as well and all so the money would keep rolling in.
The inspections were worse than useless, the owner had a job that allowed him to get a "head's up" and there was never ever a spot inspection that was unexpected - we knew when they were due because the owner's wife would arrive with new cushion covers and curtains and air fresheners, and the sachets of specialised disinfectant that ordinarily were too expensive to put in the carpet cleaner and enough light bulbs to go around and so on, all to get ready so everything looked nice when the inspectors arrived
The budget for all the food, cleaning stuff, household items, and toiletries was £380 a week for the entire 2 years I worked there, and the number of residents varied from 32 to 40

[Strumpetron]

This thread has actually made me cry. I feel like a soft shite but I just want to go back and help everyone I left behind. If I've worked in 12 homes, 8 of which were vile what does that say for the ratio?

I'm really sorry if this has scared anyone, but it's really important to be aware. And to know that some of us really do care.

[hiddenhome]

I've been a qualified nurse working in care homes for over 20 years now. I worked on agencies on and off for 10 years too, so have been in plenty of these places.

The one thing that makes all the difference is staffing levels. If you have enough staff, you can deliver the right care. The times I have worked short and ended up struggling and neglecting the people I have been there to care for.

The only way of ensuring decent care is to be visible and visit your relative each and every day if possible. Ask to see the care plans, ask for a fluid balance chart to be kept, you want your relative weighed weekly to keep an eye out for weight loss, ask to see their pressure areas, condition of skin and if they're clean. Make a fuss and the outcome will be better. You might not be popular, but your relative will be properly cared for. Remember that you cannot just hand your loved one over and expect them to be cared for to the standard that you would care for them. It just isn't going to happen unfortunately. In an ideal world it would, but it doesn't.

Even the decent places will struggle though. None of them are ever well staffed and the care staff generally only earn minimum wage. Many of them receive very little training and education and the ones who've been working in a place for years are often the ones to watch out for. The younger workers can vary a lot in terms of quality too.

If you can, find a home that's run by a charity as they tend not to be so money grabbing and greedy.

[joanofarchitrave]

I think there are good ones but working in a job where I visit a lot of them, I'm not optimistic tbh. I would do a lot to keep my PILs and parents out of one, but if they all get very frail in the next few years, I can't care for 4 of them plus put food on the table for my family!

We are going to HAVE to change this. I think the idea of setting up a cooperative and retaining control is a really good one, I think there will be more and more of this kind of arrangement as time goes on.

[Its0kToBeMe]

I agree with tiredemma, I am a carer and I hope to god I never end up in a care home.
I've left two care homes after reporting them to CQC. 'checks were made' and I was told that 'everything appears to be satisfactory.
This in a place where two carers broke a residents knee caps and sleeping on the night shift was rife.
Oh, and one carer proudly telling me he would punch residents in the back the head as 'it left no bruising'
Flip side, I am equally saddened at how little if at all families would visit. Residents would have no toiletries or underware.
There are great families and carers out there which keeps me in the job. We need more stories on the good stuff