http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-12125575

Seems as if every week there is some abuse of elders at so called care homes,look after your parents as the system obviously fails quite often. 🙁

Honestly don’t know whether to feel ashamed to be British, especially having heard the not dissimilar but even more appalling news of the nursery worker’s arrest today, or ashamed of the press . . . I haven’t bought a newspaper since the published graphic description of the murder of PC Blakelock back in the 80s. Very sad 🙁

That is shocking. I do hope that other staff reported this right away. Those poor residents, as if it isn’t bad enough living in your own private hell.

I really do admire the good nursing and care staff, they are doing such a hard job, and at risk to themselves too. My father’s nursing home has genuinely dedicated and compassionate staff. They have my utmost respect.

It is a national scandal, these care homes charge upwards of £1000 a WEEK to care for people with dementia, pay close to minimum wage for care staff and often run at minimum staffing levels,
unfortunatly the in the private sector it’s now being seen as an easy cash cow as numbers of people with dementia are rising and the NHS can’t cope so the private care providers are raking it in
What’s sad, apart from the actual abuse,is the family of the people abused were probably thinking they were doing the right thing putting their loved in somewhere that was supposed to specialised in dealing with people with dementia
Saying all that, there’s loads of people working in these places doing jobs that would make other people pewk, and genuinely making life better for thousands of people every day,
they don’t make the papers for that though.

Honestly don’t know whether to feel ashamed to be British

Not got anything to do with being British I don’t think.

I think that also what is not realised is how long some of these residents will stay in the nursing home for. In my father’s nursing home, there are some that are actually relatively quite young (late 60’s) and physically they are in fairly good shape.

Kahni – there is very little profit in Nursing homes – I know what the figures are like even at £1000 per week – that is why they pay minimum wage and thus why they find it very hard to recruit decent staff.

Its not that the NHS can’t cope -a political decision was taken to privatise elderly care in the 80s purely on grounds of cost – because if this was being done on the NHS it would cost a lot more -mainly in wages

molgrips – Member
Honestly don’t know whether to feel ashamed to be British
Not got anything to do with being British I don’t think.

I haven’t had the need to check out care homes in the rest of Europe yet, but having been to the continent quite a few times and found that attitudes towards other people are significantly better, I say ‘Welcome to Britain’ (again).

I strongly suspect that this goes on to a much lesser extent elsewhere in Europe as family values appear to be much stronger.

Kahni

If you can’t even spell my name right I’m not playing 🙁

So lets imagine that your parents that brought you up and into this world,suddenly through no fault of their own just old age, need to go in a care home, if they own their own home it needs to be emptied if all their possesions and then be sold, the money from the sale will then be paid to the managenment of the care home at 500 pounds per week upwards, you see a change in your parent or parents, as they get possibly more withdrawn lose weight, and live in their own private world, some of the staff do their best, but are frequently whipped by the management to work 12 hour shifts, work days off, pay for their own meals, and sometimes their uniform, recieve little training, and get greif from relatives about the care of their parent.

Some staff do the job because they care, some shouldnt even be employed flicking burgers.

Management promise the earth to keep your money, but fail to do anything realistic.

Then you read about the case above, and think someday that may be me being terrorised by these sort of people, and it should worry us all.

But hey, the management says sorry and its all forgoten till next time it surfaces.

The link seems to suggest that the glove puppet is in reference to one incidence, to which apparently :

“Other staff at the Old Rectory were so shocked by the behaviour they raised the alarm and the pair were arrested”.

So that story doesn’t exactly provide evidence which convinces me that care homes for the elderly in Britain are systematically failing.

khani

Sorry

Project – actually they get supervised then closed by the care commission. Happens more than you might think. I know of several managers who have been disqualified and several homes that have been shut – as well as many placed under very tight supervision

Its pretty tightly regulated

Its not the one off appalling incidents like this that you should be worried about – they get dealt with – its the continual substandard care because the costs are higher than the fees ( especially if you are state funded) leading to corner cutting

For Ernie, and for people who care about their parents and relatives.

http://www.elderabuse.org.uk/Media%20and%20Resources/Latest%20news.htm

Thank you TJ,
I don’t agree costs are higher than fees, in the public sector maybe, but in the private sector I’ve seen different, some people are getting very rich.

TJ, the owners, are the ones who take the money and decide how the money is spent, the manager is the one who makes it happen, and sometimes fails, even if the home is forced to close it can be sold, transfered or re opened with new management, but usually the resiodents are shunted else where, and this upsets them, usually leading to their death prematurely.

Guys – I work in nursing homes – and have been in very senior roles

I know what the nunnbers are like.

Homes running on state funding of around £480 a week do not make any significant profit off that – they use the profits of the private patients to cover the losses. This is why these homes keep going out of business

Homes with a mix of private and sate patients will be lucky to make a 5% return

Homes that only have private patients have higher costs – even at £1000 a week fees profits will be low. maybe 10% return at best.
I wanted to run my own home buyt soon realise that It was not viable.

doing basic care well costs around £600 – 700 a month per resident. doing more than the basics soon racks this to over £800 – like the posh homes that charge £1000 a week

project – MemberFor Ernie, and for people who care about their parents and relatives.
http://www.elderabuse.org.uk/Media%20and%20Resources/Latest%20news.htm

Nasty

Isn’t Britain lovely?

Anyone else want to leave?

And before the regular ‘Miss you already’ crowd get here, think about it.

Me and the mrs both have worked in this sector, her at a much higher level than me,but I still don’t agree, I’ve met the former owner of a group of care homes who walked away with forty million pounds when he sold up, most of his Inmates residents were public funded,
He did allright out of it.

The current system is simply not sustainable. In fact with this economic downturn, I would say this is a very serious problem for the country and Government.

In fact with this economic downturn

Economic downturn ?…………what economic downturn ? 😕

You mean we are making all these sacrifices and there is going to be an economic downturn/Double-Dip Recession ?

I thought the whole point of these tough but necessary policies was that it would stimulate the economy and there would jobs and growth galore ?

But now you say things are going to get worse 😐

I feel let down now 🙁

TJ – is the care comission in scotland different to that of CQC in england? As your view that things are tighly regulated is somewhat at odds with mine. Whilst I don’t work in care homes, I have spent most of my working life as a social worker for people with dementia, and the majority of the last 10 years managing older peoples assessment/ comissioning teams and mental health services for social services and the NHS. Whilst co-ordinating safeguarding cases I have found CQC (and their previous incarnations) increasingly useless, particulary when deciding on issues surrounding quality of care/ neglect. I have never known or heard of a home that has been shut on the spot, and know of no district/ area that would have enough availible care for say, 40 people with dementia who could be transfered into better care facilities. The use of increased self regulation by homes planned by CQC is hardly likely to assist this situation. Whilst their rhetoric is to focus on those failing, the net widening of their remit to include hospitals/ dentists etc means this just won’t happen, there isn’t the investment. The recent retraction from them on the figures for the number of homes that has been closed also suggests a shocking lack of undertsanding from the organisations senior management.

Don’t me wrong I don’t think this is a problem just relating just to the private sector care homes, you only have to look at the health outcomes for people with dementia who have to enter general hospital care, and those who recieve services through primary health and social care. The simple fact is caring for people with dementia is a difficult task that requires compassion and costs money, well more than we are willing to spend at the moment and certainly in the future.

There are fine people out there doing great work, but unfortunately this is in both a system and society that is failing to provide adequate care for it’s elderly and people with dementia.

Oh I quite agree with you dementia care is badly done – I consider it to be my speciality and I have worked in some of Edinburgh’s best dementia care facilities and they are barely adequate. I have also worked in places that were poor to say the least. I reckon to do it as I would like it for my family would be £2000 a week easily

sounds like the care commission in Scotland might be tougher than in England

I know of one care home recently that was shut almost overnight, I know of other that were shut and I know of homes that have had daily supervision from the care commission

TandemJeremy – Member

I know of one care home recently that was shut almost overnight, I know of other that were shut and I know of homes that have had daily supervision from the care commission

Posted 15 hours ago # Report-Post

So what happened to the residents who may be transfered anywhere with a bed or room, the families whos life would be seriously disrupted at the thought their family member was being moved with hardly any notice, who cares for them, and as i said before the managenmnet still own the building, and fittings which they can sell on,or call a new name, human life is a lot cheaper and sadly easier to move.

Kahni – there is very little profit in Nursing homes – I know what the figures are like even at £1000 per week – that is why they pay minimum wage and thus why they find it very hard to recruit decent staff.

Teej I know a nurisng home owner who is loaded and thanks the govt for being so. Maybe in the land of the wet thistle its not profitable down here in the land of trampled rose bush they are making proper wedge.

Project

They were all accomondated in either the NHS or other nursing homes. I know the one I work in took 3 residents. Its a bad situation tho for sure

It must have been very bad to be closed like that and the owners cannot reopen it again nor can they sell it as a nursing home as it does not meet latest regs

Toys – do you want to see teh numbers? It used to be profitable but now it is not.

I hope they get there dumb heads kicked in when they are inside and hopefully somebody shoves there hand somewhere and uses them as a puppet for a while .

Isn’t Britain lovely?

Anyone else want to leave?

Given the choice between the (public, Spanish) home my father-in-law spent his last years in, and the (private, English) home my grandmother’s in – I know which one I’d chose. And it’s not the one in the land of bullfighting and olé…

Realistically I don’t think you can generalise, the care my FiL received was perfectly adequate, but the lack of money meant it was a pretty depressing place.

But they can sell the home as an empty large property, while empty it will not attract buisness rates so theyve saved there, and if they go bankrupt as a company, they wont have to pay any money back to the residents or their families, its a win win situation for them, oh and neither will they have to pay redundancy to the staff as the governmnet picks up that bill if theyre bust.

Working in a care home is oh so different to being on the other side of the fence as either a resident or family, then and only then do you realise how shit the system is, and the huge sums people cream out of it,money that should have been spent on residents care.

Project

I work in Nursing homes and have done at a senior level. I know what goes on. I have worked in a variety of homes up to manager.

Tehre is no huge amount of money to cream off. It simply is not there. Most of your costs are fixed, you income is fixed. Discretionary spending is a small % Profits are low to non existant. This is why there is a shortage of spaces and why provision is concentrated in the hands a a few large providers as they have economies of scale.

TJ obviously you work in the wromg homes,profits are usually taken as bonuses or dividends even shares in the company, sometimes even fancy expensive cars etc.

Large companies have seen the growth of care homes a s a nice little earner, where the residents and staff are seen as a product, or by product to earning a lot of money.