Aggressive behaviour

[jan.s]

Just a general question, based on something I have seen in a care home. How would you expect a dementia specialist care home to cope with aggressive behaviour?

Jan

[Teanosugar]

Just a general question, based on something I have seen in a care home. How would you expect a dementia specialist care home to cope with aggressive behaviour?

Jan

I have a friend with a mother with Alzheimers who had been asked to leave her care home due to aggressive behaviour. They simply told the daughter she would have to leave and expected her to take her. With help from several of us, daughter contacted Social Services and put the ball firmly in their court - the result was mum is now placed in a unit which specialises in behaviours, experts who know how to deal with this. There is specialist training for behaviours, and there are people who work in this field with dementia and other disabilities. For a Care Home to simply wash their hands of the person is not enough, they should have known there are further options, not just pass the buck back to a family who obviously could not cope before or the person would not have gone into care. Sometimes the system breaks down, due to people not knowing enough, it is wrong and this should not have happened the way it did.

[Christin]

Hello Jan, I don't know the answer to your question, but I just wanted to add that I think it is important to remember that all not care/nursing homes are the same. They vary considerably and, in my own opinion, the staff should be trained to the appropriate need.

The first time my FIL went to a non dementia registered care home, his behaviour was beyond the training of most of the staff and they said they could have him stay there again. This resulted in the appointment of a CPN and further respite took place in a home that was registered for dementia care. Eventually he needed EMI nursing care.

This AS factsheet helps to explain the different categories. Selecting a Care Home.

Very best wishes. x

[jan.s]

Thank you for your help on this. The lady in question seems to be pushing people and hitting them. My concerns lie in the fact that if she pushes R, he will give her one back with extras!!!

I am not sure how the home are coping with this, maybe she just needs time to settle, as she is new. I make sure that R is well out of the way as the noise would start him off!

Thanks again.
Jan

[ggma]

I think if there is a problem with someone new and you are worried, you should talk to the Manager about your concerns, and ask how they are going to mange the situation.

Hopefully you will then be reassured with by their strategies and they will know that you are concerned. It is not something that happens all the time, and in specialist units staff are trained in restraint and other methods to manage very aggressive behaviours.

Mum is in an EMI unit in residential and I have noticed that for the first couple of weeks new residents do seem to be disturbed, but I have not seen any resident be physically violent.

[Pheath]

Hi Jan
My dad got very aggressive a couple of times at his care home during his first 3 weeks (which is specialised for dementia) and hit staff as well as other residents. As far as I know the manager got a carer to take him out for a walk to calm him down which normally works. I think his aggression was partly triggered by feeling trapped and wanting to leave and also confusion about his new surroundings. It's always very distressing when I hear of incidents and was told the situation was being monitored and if it occurred more regularly they would have to prescribe him something but thankfully it hasn't recently. Hopefully if the lady in question is new to the home once she settles in more will become calmer. The staff should be fairly used to dealing with flare ups of this sort and am sure are mindful of the need to protect other residents from feeling upset & agitated as a result of them. Px

[TinaT]

Personally I have seen very little agressive behaviour between resident and resident but have seen plenty of aggressive behaviour towards staff.

Residents (mostly female) tend to quarrel loudly but not physically. The noise attracts staff immediately to the scene and both parties are then quietly led away from each other and comforted. This usually calms the situation down and to avioid this happening again, staff encourage each resident to sit in another lounge or the dining room. Once the situation has calmed down both residents hold a certain animosity for a few days but then all is forgotten and I see them sitting together quite happily.

Aggression towards staff is I'm afraid part of the caring role in my husband's care home. Sometimes aggression can be avoided by the carers always telling the resident what they are going to do before they are moved and trying to gently coax. If a resident has to be moved or something is happening which a resident desn't understand and is objecting to strongly, the staff know which of the residents has a tendancy to strike out and usually move away, leaving the resident to calm down and then try again later to move him/her when the resident seems more receptive.

Most aggression is counteracted by leaving the resident alone for a while. Distraction techniques do not seem to work when the resident has reached the stage of hitting out. Trying to force an aggressive resident usually leads to an escalation of the violence.

Hope this helps but is only my observations of my husband's particular care home.

xxTinaT

[Witzend]

Just a general question, based on something I have seen in a care home. How would you expect a dementia specialist care home to cope with aggressive behaviour?

Jan

In 5 yrs I've only really seen one case in my mother's (specialist dementia) CH. There was a man who was still physically fit who would get into violent rages, fling chairs about and sweep all his food and drink off the table in a furious temper, etc.
Staff would do their best to calm him, but it was obviously difficult. Since he was definitely frightening and upsetting the other residents, many of whom are very frail, I was expecting him to be moved to somewhere a bit more hard-core.

After a few weeks I didn't see him any more and asked where he was, fully expecting them to say he'd been moved elsewhere. Instead of which they told me he'd died of an unexpected heart attack.
Must say I couldn't help thinking it was a mercy.