Residents attacking staff in care home

[SummerGardenFlowers]

Ok so not strictly related to an elderly parent of mine - however my DD works as a cook in a care home and has been attacked/witnessed other staff being attacked by confused residents in the past. That resident has since passed away, but she's messaged to say another resident has moved in who is a tall man and he has already attacked a member of staff. She's actually quite frightened by this, she only works in the kitchen and isn't a carer, however residents are allowed free access to all areas of the home and obviously a kitchen (knives etc) could be a dangerous area to be. It doesn't seem like management are taking her concerns seriously. What can she do?

Fuck all ime. Happens a lot and management do little about it. Leave and try a different home.

My friend worked in a care home and was covered in bruises sometimes. It's par for the course with dementia. Not saying they all do but some do become violent. It's very common unfortunately.

I would say that she must dial 999 and demand the police if she is threatened and also insist that the police deal with it. No-one should feel frightened at work. Let a court decide what should happen, maybe the resident needs to be in secure accomodation.

My stepfather became violent as his dementia worsened. His care home made sure they had a strong risk assessment in place. Any areas where residents should not have access to were locked via a keypad - this included access to the kitchen. The dining room was locked outside of meal times.

you’ve clearly no idea how dementia care homes work have you. It’s the responsibility of the management to ensure any dangers are identified and dealt with.

There is no way any dementia patient should have access to the kitchen.

Half the time the reason they are in care homes is because they are nolonger safe to be left at home.
Either at risk of accidentally harming themselves or others.

If confused residents have unrestricted access to areas where there are e.g. chemicals they could access then the Local Authority and the CQC should be informed.

There should also be an NHS team that the care home can access to support with residents with challenging behaviour. If the home is registered to take more challenging clients though then there should already be suitably qualified staff on site and consideration given by the NHS and adult social care for increased funding for e.g. 1:1 staffing. If they aren't registered for challenging behaviour then they need to be flagging up if they can't safely meet that person's needs and asking whoever is funding the care to consider a move to a more suitable place.

If staff are flagging that it is unsafe and not being listened to they can whistle-blow to the CQC (who will pass it to the local authority to deal with unless its very serious).

Thank you all - I've asked her if she knows what risk assessments are in place and she doesn't know (she wouldn't , she's not a carer and isn't privy to that sort of information), BUT I feel very strongly that residents shouldn't have access to what is, basically, a professional kitchen but she said absolutely not allowed to lock the door and residents do wander in, where she has to find a carer to remove them!

All management can do is report the concerns to the residents GP, who may then change his medication to calm him. However meds will be dependent on his overall health and GPs can't medicate someone to the extent that it impacts on his quality of life, there needs to be balance.

Suggest she finds another job.

Thankfully she's got an interview in January for at the hospital, massively fingers crossed!!!

I bet families wouldn't be happy with the hygiene aspects of patients wandering into the kitchen either.

It's exactly the same as you wouldn't allow toddlers access to a kitchen in a nursery.

This happens all the time. I can't really see how it can practically be avoided. Learning disabled patients have injured me many many times. It's not personal but still hurts! It's no good saying they should be in secure accommodation. Lots of these places are secure accommodation! Two or even three to one care doesn't mean it won't happen. And quite rightly we can't just lock these people up.

One easy way of it being avoided is to have a number coded lock on the kitchen door. And the door kept closed.

and if they fail to do this the police must take action. It is wrong that anyone feels frightened at work. Safeguards must be in place and enforced. In this case a lock on the kitchen door should work but any one who is threatened with violence should call the police and then a court can decide who is wrong. Old age is not an excuse for bad behaviour.

For everyone's safety, residents shouldn't have access to the kitchen. Even basic food safety let alone anything else. This is actually really serious and you need to find out who to report it to - put it in writing to the care home manager. This is the first step in doing anything about it.

@OldJohn what on earth are you on about? Someone who lapses into violence induced through dementia isn't displaying 'bad behaviour'.

And as for calling the police...you want them to arrest elderly dementia patients? And you think it'll land in court?

You really don't get it at all.

Old age no, but how about cognitive disability due to an illness that slowly kills brain cells? Some of the residents I have worked with have little understanding of what they are doing, some have the mental capacity of a toddler. They are often very confused, scared and in a state of panic.

There is much much more management can do beyond speaking to the GP.

They can consider increased staffing including 1:1

They can ask the local older adults mental health team to review and look at OT, strategies, medication etc

They can identify that it's no longer the correct setting and request a review from whoever is funding.

If there are unmet dementia nursing needs they can request a nursing assessment with a view to a move or an increase in nursing staff.

They can put keypads on any areas where it would be dangerous for confused residents to access

They could increase activities during the day so people are occupied rather than wandering

They could train ALL their staff including kitchen, admin and domiciliary staff in dignity in care and in dementia, as well as basic breakaway techniques. All staff should also have received training in whistleblowing and safeguarding adults from abuse or neglect.

Regular staff meetings where open conversation identifying concerns and discussions about what the managers are planning to do about the concerns.

If staff are being assaulted then they are absolutely entitled to report it to the police as well. Nothing will happen from a police /criminal perspective but there is liaison between police, adults social care etc and if something awful happens it all gives a clearer picture for prosecution etc if managers were aware of risks and didn't do anything about it.

How on earth did you find your way onto this board? You have no idea. Dementia is not ‘bad behaviour’, wtaf.

What is ’bad behaviour’ is the failure of the care home’s management team to risk assess and implement appropriate safeguards, such as ensuring residents cannot access the kitchen.

Can she make a report to the CQC?

The management is not taking appropriate action which includes risk assessments. Working with dementia means there is risk, but that should be mitigated. Allowing dangerous clients to roam in all spaces with staff who aren't even trained is neglect on the employers part. There is a lot of exploitation if staff in the care sector - unless your daughter is a member of unison I'd give this job up as a list cause and move jobs - get out of car all together if possible.

No it is not the same at all. That's extremely ageist.

Nursing homes are the resident's "home". They are entitled to access to the kitchen. Some residents live in them for years.

They are not an asylum, they are a "home". Residents are not toddlers, they are adults, some of whom are 100% mentally well, but have physical care needs.

We ask that care homes report any assaults to the police if physical harm has been caused. Just because the person committing the assault lacks capacity it doesn't mean that someone hasn't been injured and the police will need to investigate a potential crime.

Sadly there are 'murders' in care homes very regularly e.g. a resident dies after being pushed or hit with an object. If it was your relative who was injured or deceased you absolutely would want it to be properly investigated.

They could put a key pad on the kitchen door so it is not a walk-through door and is staff only. These can be linked into fire alarms so they immediately are openable as escape routes if needed.

Of course - there was such an incident in a family member's care home quite recently which is under investigation.

What I'm referring to is the previous poster who was talking as if the resident should be arrested for their 'bad behaviour'.