are they careing enough

ironmaden

Registered User
Oct 27, 2005
22
0
cornwall
my dad has gone into a care home after a lot of fight to get him into the one we wanted he has been in there 3 weeks the first day they said they would put him on a mattres on the floor to sleep because he climbs out of bed a lot we did not want this so we asked them not to but the next night he fell trying to get out of bed did not hurt hisself but a lot of brusing we then asked for him to be put on the mattres the next night he fell out of bed again and cut his arm still on bed the night after he fell again hurt his leg still on bed the next night he fell out of bed and cut his leg they then put him on mattress on floor that night he punched a hole in the door he is never agrasive so dont know what happend the next night he had carpet burns to 1 leg today when i visited his both legs are bandeged and they are covered in carpet burns and weeping he is being assesed on wednesday can we asked his c p n if someone can sit with him during the night i dont now if this can happen but i dont now whos fault it it yhat this is happening but feel so down thingking he would now be safe and this happens have anyone got any advice
 

Kayla

Registered User
May 14, 2006
621
0
Kent
Climbing out of bed

When my Mum broke her hip, she kept trying to climb out of the hospital bed, even though the sides were up. In the end, the nurses pushed the bed into the corridor, so they could keep an eye on her easily. When she returned to the care home they had tremendous problems keeping her safe in bed or on the chair, as she kept trying to get out, but was unable to walk. A care home is not allowed to use side bars on the bed for safety.
In the end Mum needed Nursing Home care, and on the first night she jumped out of bed and landed on the floor. She also kept trying to move off the chair and kept falling down. She hates the side bars on the bed, but they are necessary for her safety. I had to sign to say it was OK to use them. She has settled down now, but forgets she can't walk and doesn't always recognise her own room and thinks they've moved the doors around.
I think a move to a new environment is bound to create problems, but hopefully things will improve in time.
Kayla
 

nicetotalk

Registered User
Sep 22, 2006
155
0
stretford
Hi ironmaiden

I am shocked by the care home to say they would have to put him on the floor on a mattres may be i can not relate to this as my dad looked after my mum all throuhg her illness. In the end she had to go in respite for my dads sake as he was getting ill with looking after her. By the time she went in respite she could no longer walk but i just find it a little hard for them to say that.
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
The moment Jan entered her care home she slept on a mattress on the floor because it was the only safe place for her to be -until we found a superb bed a couple of years later that could cope with her safely.

The home had to pad not only the floor, but also the walls to ensure she would not accidentally harm herself while crawling, and to this day, we spend most of my visits on a mattress on the floor, talking.

Things in dementiaworld are not the same as elsewhere.

To have put Jan in any kind of bed - even with side bars would have been highly dangerous for her.

So try not to be shocked when things that seem strange to us are applied to our loved ones.
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
1,342
0
My mother didn't have any broken bones but also had to be put out in the corridor when she was in hospital last autumn, I think more for other patients' sake than her own. She boasted gleefully "I was so bad, I had to be put outside from 10 o'clock till 2, oh I was so BAD!" And I'd thought being put out in the corridor for bad behaviour stopped when you left school ...

Lila


Kayla said:
When my Mum broke her hip, she kept trying to climb out of the hospital bed, even though the sides were up. In the end, the nurses pushed the bed into the corridor, so they could keep an eye on her easily.



Kayla
 

Nell

Registered User
Aug 9, 2005
1,170
0
72
Australia
ironmaden said:
my dad has gone into a care home after a lot of fight to get him into the one we wanted he has been in there 3 weeks the first day they said they would put him on a mattres on the floor to sleep because he climbs out of bed a lot we did not want this so we asked them not to but the next night he fell trying to get out of bed did not hurt hisself but a lot of brusing we then asked for him to be put on the mattres the next night he fell out of bed again and cut his arm still on bed the night after he fell again hurt his leg still on bed the next night he fell out of bed and cut his leg they then put him on mattress on floor that night he punched a hole in the door he is never agrasive so dont know what happend the next night he had carpet burns to 1 leg today when i visited his both legs are bandeged and they are covered in carpet burns and weeping he is being assesed on wednesday can we asked his c p n if someone can sit with him during the night i dont now if this can happen but i dont now whos fault it it yhat this is happening but feel so down thingking he would now be safe and this happens have anyone got any advice

I know it is heart wrenching in the extreme if you think the care might not be good enough, but do ask questions to find out exactly what happened. If the staff were not in the room, they might not know exactly what happened, but theycan tell you what they DO know. The carpet burns might be the result of dragging himself around the foor (or crawling?) and might not be the result of anyone else's actions.

If you ask the staff in an open and non-confronting way, you should get honest replies. If your Dad was punching the door, he might have been lying across it or near it and prevented staff entering - this could have resulted in someone pushing the door to move him and thus he got carpet burns. It is too hard to try and guess what is going on - do ask for explanations though. It is your right and your Dad's right too (as you are asking on his behalf).

But remember that staff are usually very caring and hard working and may not take kindly to being confronted with suggestions that they hacve caused his injuries. You'll learn more if you can stay calm and relaxed. (Before AD, my Mum would say "You catch more flies with honey"!!)
Nell
 

Áine

Registered User
Feb 22, 2006
994
0
sort of north east ish
This is a tough one Ironmaiden. My dad used to either try to climb over the cot sides, or crawl down to the end of the bed and slide out. He hurt himself a few times. Sometimes it´s a question of how much you think staff should try to control people. Of course I didn´t want dad to fall and hurt himself ...... but if keeping him safe came at the price of staff strapping him in his chair because they couldn´t keep an eye on him absolutely 24/7did I want that? It´s a fine balance between independence and safety very often ......... exacerbated of course by the realities of staffing quotas.
 

ironmaden

Registered User
Oct 27, 2005
22
0
cornwall
continuing care

my dad has settled really well in the care home have been pretty sick wih phomonua but is getting better i am wondering if anyone has come across this my dad has his nails cut every 4 weeks by a chiropadis sorry about the spelling at a cost of 10 pound a time i have heard if you are getting countinuing care you do not pay this yourself would like to now if he has to befor i say anything thanks for reading this
 

noelphobic

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
3,452
0
Liverpool
I'm glad to hear that your dad has settled well. As far as I am aware the only chiropody that would be free would be that which is provided by a NHS chiropodist. If your dad's home uses a private chiropodist then I think it would have to be paid for, although I could be wrong. I seem to remember being told that my mum's nursing home could never get a NHS chiropodist to come so their only alternative was to get a private one.

Brenda
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
Yes, like Brenda, my mother's home simply can't get an NHS chiropodist, so they have to use a private one.

Jennifer
 

DeborahBlythe

Registered User
Dec 1, 2006
9,222
0
NHS chiropody should be available everywhere, even in care homes. If you search hard enough you'll find the relevant service manager for chiropody services at your local Primary Care Trust and should have a conversation with them. The problem is not so much the existence of the services but the very long waiting lists. If the waiting time is so chronic, it becomes simpler to call in a private chiropodist, which is what the homes do, I think, when they say 'they can't get an NHS one'.
 

DeborahBlythe

Registered User
Dec 1, 2006
9,222
0
ironmaden said:
my dad has gone into a care home after a lot of fight to get him into the one we wanted he has been in there 3 weeks the first day they said they would put him on a mattres on the floor to sleep because he climbs out of bed a lot we did not want this so we asked them not to but the next night he fell trying to get out of bed did not hurt hisself but a lot of brusing we then asked for him to be put on the mattres the next night he fell out of bed again and cut his arm still on bed the night after he fell again hurt his leg still on bed the next night he fell out of bed and cut his leg they then put him on mattress on floor that night he punched a hole in the door he is never agrasive so dont know what happend the next night he had carpet burns to 1 leg today when i visited his both legs are bandeged and they are covered in carpet burns and weeping he is being assesed on wednesday can we asked his c p n if someone can sit with him during the night i dont now if this can happen but i dont now whos fault it it yhat this is happening but feel so down thingking he would now be safe and this happens have anyone got any advice

Only six months late to notice this one:( Wonder if you have noticed the thread posted this week by someone from CSCI ( Commission for Social Care Inspection). They do the inspections of care homes. RhidianH from CSCI is asking for comments about restraint. Your experiences might be useful for them to hear about, even if you are now happier with the way your relative is treated.http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=6064

Check out the CSCI website too, for more information about their role. www.csci.gov.uk
 

Norman

Registered User
Oct 9, 2003
4,348
0
Birmingham Hades
Whether a home gets NHS Podiatry/Chiropody depends on how hard the manager persues the service Manager.
As Deborah says ,contact the local PCT and speak to the Podiatry/Chiropody manager.
Norman