Wearing name badges in care home

[FrangiePangie]

AIBU to think that it should be mandatory for people who work in care homes to wear name badges. I've just put my mum in one and no-one has them on. I asked why not and got excuses like they'd forgotten, theirs was broken or they'd lost it. How on earth is someone in their 80's with poor memory going to remember peoples' names?

The Scottish play this is true. I am currently called Alice, Doris and more disturbingly granddad. I have just learned to answer.

I have a modern name many think it's foreign

One woman only knows me because i have a naughty cat, she has teddy and he's always a good boy unlike my cat the little villain

The residents on my placement never knew my name but they all without fail remember that I have two children with a massive age gap.

I always talk to people when working. I make time to do that. It takes seconds to flash a massive smile at someone.

You can say a massive amount through body language. I can understand a lot the same way. Many with advanced dementia who lose the skills to communicate verbally tell me most of what they need by posture, facial expressions, eye contact.

Only 10% of what we say is said verbally. You just need to know how to listen.

I'm currently working in Stroke ward as a student. My ability to read body language makes my day and my patients soooo much nicer.

A lady who does not know my name but knows my face said I was her favourite this evening.

She said I was always good to her and knew my job. I think that has something to do with the chocolate I gave her before getting her ready for bed

We prefer not to wear badges because then the relatives know your name when they make a complaint

We were provided with magnetic ones which lasted all of one shift (I lost mine in my car on the way home).

I don't really know what the answer is. We can't afford to pay for embroidery. A lanyard with a plastic name tag would cause injury and end up dangling in clients food etc. Badges either have pins which can injure or get lost if they're magnetised. I wear dark blue so can't write on it as it wouldn't show up.

Most of our clients are too sick and frail to read them so we just tell them our names. The relatives ask us our names sometimes.

Helpimitchy please tell me you are joking?

a couple of weeks after my 40th, i ended up in hospital and then to a step down bed in a nursing home, i was there for several months.

i could barely keep track of all the names, the day / night / part timers / nursing students / volunteers / school work experience placements, the managers and the owners.

Some people started blending into each other as they were doing different jobs depending on what colour uniform they were wearing that day (so mauve for domestic in morning and blue for carer in afternoon)

My experience was mostly positive, we did have a few hiccups which they swiftly made right (partly i think cos they knew i would be vocal), my room was quiet end of a corridor and they forgot me at tea time on a couple of occassions as i didnt come out for teatime and not sure if someone looked in and i was asleep, part of my illness, i can g into heavy sleeps

but kitchen was long closed when discovered after suppers were over on at least 2 occassions, so i was handed a menu for choice of local take aways and they would get whatever i wanted taxied out to me.

I asked for stats on how often this happened for full time residents, they werent available?

re name badges, they wouldnt have helped and would have been something i couldnt make out and felt frustrated i couldnt read on a lanyard or badge, i have community carers whose names are on a pin badge and they all seem to wear it high up near their shoulder

Smurfy - 'forgetting you at tea time' would have raised concerns for me and as you say concerns over the permanent residents also being 'forgotten'.
In my experience, care staff forget stuff, they are very busy people, and one person forgetting is understandable, but a team of staff including the kitchen (who should know how many they are catering for?) Isn't on IMO.
Many residents in the time I was in care, missed a mealtime because of various reasons and waking up a poorly person, is often counter productive and often leads to a good telling off but a meal would be saved for the resident to be offered later and I've often made sandwiches/toast/cheese and biscuits for someone who fancies a nibble later on. At least they got you a takeaway though.
Hope you're feeling better now

@OldandJaded thank you for the flowers

The day i was leaving i explained that as as overall "safeguarding measure", i would for my own peace of mind be reporting those incidences into the care commission as while it was rectified for me,

i know they were v aware, i had easy access to phone, laptop with internet access and could advocate for myself that others who were unable to use a mobile phone,never mind a laptop, i was youngest person there by far.

I also noted some people had no visitors and little stimulation and ended up trying to persuade the activity therapist to engage more with some, who "werent interested" but who spoke back to me when i spoke at room doorway, this was a couple of residents who were completely bedbound, the rooms were bare around them (easy cleaning) and no tv, pictures, radio. nothing just a blank wall

I know the staff are flat out, the downstairs kitchen was locked up after a certain time so night staff couldnt access it, they had to bring their own stuff (im talking like salt to go something as it would be removed or some sugar)

Sadly things are worse than they were however i now have a brilliant team of carers who come in 4 times a day, support workers, girl friday and friends who help me to function at most basic level