Care home misconduct. Is this abuse?

[Staffielove23]

I work in a care setting looking after older adults with LD, mental health, etc. The other day a guy I look after told me a member of staff had hidden his iPad. At first I thought he’d gotten confused as that seems really restrictive to me. I queried it with said staff member and they had indeed hidden it in the laundry room where he couldn’t reach it because he had behaved badly the previous evening. They said he was trying go outside to walk around the gardens in the snow and the ice, and that he was just generally very rude and not listening. Aibu in thinking that’s abit abusive? There have been other similar incidents happening like that and I’m starting to have serious concerns about safeguarding.

I work in a nursing emi home myself and I wouldn't be happy with this at all. If that gives him comfort and somthing he enjoys having then I don't think it's right taking it off him. That just sounds like taking the ipad off a child for misbehaving, he is an adult. Individuals with dementia or other mental illnesses can't always reason and understand like me or you.

I would report it to your manager and if nothing gets done, go further.

Definitely report this. What an awful thing to do. And mention anything else of relevance this member of staff has done.

That is ... very uncomfortable reading OP.
Suppose this is just the thin end of the wedge? You MUST report.

Care workers are not there to invent arbitrary rules & punishments. Residents are not misbehaving prisoners to be 'corrected' - they are clients, whose dignity & personal freedoms need to be respected.

This is very upsetting. Please report this immediately.

I think if it feels wrong then it is wrong, you need to report.

That is appalling, poor man. I have a young adult with LD and mental health concerns. Stories like this truly terrify should Dd end up in the care system after my death.

I am currently on a course for parent carers relating to planning for the future, housing , employment, social activities etc. One thing that struck me on the course is a part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Everyone has the human right to make bad choices. In your senario the man chose to have a walk in the snow. He could have been supported in that decision. Instead he was treated as a child and denied his ipad as a punishment.

Blow the whistle OP this is not ok

This!

Please report it how awful 😞

This is definitely out of order! They aren't children, the staff are there to support them not to 'punish' them. This angers me so much!

What everyone else said.
The member of staff needs, if not to be dismissed immediately for gross misconduct, then a very serious retraining.

The fact that they told you what they’d done as though it was fine and acceptable is very concerning. Report them, be the residents’ advocate. x

Have you just started working there? I think I would have a chat to the manager and try and work out if its part of a bigger picture of infantilising the clients. Could you try and talk to the other carer about it. Do you think the client even realised that that was a consequence for something?
I would hope it could be something that could still be worked with, as i think some carers do not have much of a clue about best practice. They are overworked on ridiculous shift patterns and on minimum wage and often not much training.
They wont get the best out of their clients this way. Its not supportive or educational , its a bit shit, but i wouldnt call it abusive either.

You make really good points here, especially about the hard circumstances of being a care worker. But I have to disagree that it's not abusive. Of course it's abusive: AND the casual way the care worker admitted it points to a pattern of similar staff behaviours.

If somebody came into your home & confiscated your iPad as a punishment for taking a walk - you'd feel abused, right?

Taking people's personal property and hiding it is abusive and needs to be stopped. Residents are not children, they have adult rights and should be treated with respect. It is their home, not a correction centre.

It is most definitely abuse!

Hello, you need to report this to your manager.
Your colleague can't dole out punishments for behaviour that they don't agree with - as a pp said if one of the individuals you are caring for was trying to something unsafe then they need to be supported with choices. Hiding a belonging is not ok. If it was ok, it wouldn't be hidden in the laundry- it would be in the 'confiscated items box' in the office- but - that doesn't exist, because that's not an ok thing to do. Sneaky hidden practices need a spotlight shone on them.
When you are caring for people- with safeguarding concerns, you always need to believe them, make them feel good that they told you, and reassure them that you will tell your manager. Do not speak to colleagues about it, or confront the abuser. Well done for not just ignoring it though.

This is definitely abusive. The iPad is his personal property.
I would report as this makes for worrying thinking as to what else he's doing.
Requiring residential care does not in any way deprive you of your human rights and nor should it deprive you of your dignity.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-64311224

Look what can happen when you start dehumanising vulnerable people.

Definitely report you colleague. The resident is not a naughty child.

This was abusive. You don't talk to the person doing the abuse, because they can just get very clever with their abuse. Not all care workers are overworked. Not all are on minimum wage. It's important to fact find and not make assumptions. I'm not saying that further training and being put under supervision isn't the right way to go, but it's important that this is called what it is and considering the client group, it's abuse. This very vulnerable person has no one else to speak out but other staff, just like the children who live with abuse. It's concerning that the OP doesn't know her safeguarding responsibilities, so perhaps there are training gaps.

Don't worry about being wrong, just report it. Its not your problem to worry about if its a justified report or not, and its OK to be wrong about one incident.

Safeguarding doesn't just react to one single bad incident; it also reacts to patterns of behaviour. So if people don't report, it keeps lower level abuse hidden.

That is horrible. I would definitely report. I would hate for someone I love to be treated like that. I would also worry that cruelty will increase as times go on. I had a family member who was in hospital nearly all of the COVID times and their phone and tablet was there lifeline. I could no imagine how upset they would be if someone hid them.

I work in a similar line of work. Definitely abuse.
I've had to whistleblow twice and it isn't easy. But we're there for our service users not to make friends. He's using control.

I still dont think its clear cut. I think its lack of training, and the fact the entire industry is pretty much run by people who are on shit money, very little training and on stupidly long hours. I think a lot of careworkers for learning dis are unprofessional for stuff like this but in my experience, its about poor boundaries, lack of support and ongoing training rather than systematic abuse.
Ive seen it myself and i hate it, but since theres such a shortage of staff and often these carers do genuinely care deeply for their clients, but often a bit thick and rubbish at it.
It definitely needs raising, though and if its considered normal at that company, i would not be happy working in that placement.
I think a lot of replies here are unrealistic sadly, although I do agree its not good either.

@Branleuse every company I've worked for has at the very least made sure you have done the e-learning regarding abuse prior to starting work. I've seen people in senior roles act like this. And been reported.
Your reply is rather unsettling to me and I hope you don't work in a caring profession.