Do they use some kind of 'pepper spray' in care homes?

[Mumlikesflowers]

Hi,

The other day I was walking the corridors of the care home with my Mum and witnessed a member of staff seeming to spray something on the legs of another resident which seemed to give the resident temporary discomfort. The staff member said to the resident 'you just kicked P' who is a fellow carer.

This resident is strong and they have great difficulty getting her washed and dressed and then her husband turns up and it's not good for him to find her undressed.

I was left feeling rather thrown by this incident. My mother is likely to have increasing behavioural problems. I would want to know if the staff have something like a spray to use (perhaps in self defence) which I have not been told about.

Shortly afterwards her husband turned up with some visitors and I didn't say anything about what just happened as it wasn't exactly light-hearted chit chat and I had no idea if he knew about this spray or indeed whether it was anything other than room freshener.

I intend to raise with a senior whether such a thing is used. If it's not then I'm not intending to talk about the incident in terms of who did what to who. The truth is I am the relative that is frequently raising stuff and whilst I have good relationships with some staff some are wary of me and avoid eye contact with me and I've found that difficult to handle. I know I'm there for my Mum and it's not a popularity contest.

Anyway I'm not really wanting to get into what I speak up about and what I don't but it would help if anyone's heard of them using like a spray in a care home environment as I've never come across it but a care home is an environment where staff are at personal risk.

 

[SeaSwallow]

Hello @Mumlikesflowers Care homes would absolutely not be allowed to use anything like pepper spray, also to be effective they are sprayed in the face (not the legs) and cause extreme discomfort. It is possible that what you witnessed was a spray being administered for a skin issue and that the remark about kicking the other carer just happened to take place at the same time. The other thing is that pepper spray has a very distinctive odour and if you were that close you would have smelled it and possibly felt the effects.

You could raise your concerns with the care home manager or the lead carer but be prepared for them not to be happy with what you are saying. However if you have any concerns that what you think you witnessed was correct you should raise it as a safeguarding issue with the CQC.

 

[Rosettastone57]

Pepper spray is illegal in UK unless authorised to carry such as police. Unlikely to be in a care home environment

 

[canary]

It will not have been pepper spray as that would be illegal, and it won't have been done as a punishment either. I suspect that it was a spray used for skin tears. There may well have been an altercation between P and this resident resulting in scrape to her leg. Neither of us knows what preceded that comment, but it could well have been that she was complaining about P and the carer was reminding her that she kicked P. I have heard many conversations along that line in mums care home.

 

[Mumlikesflowers]

I asked the senior if there was some kind of self defence spray and she said definitely not. My view is that it was an air freshener and that it was misused. Not great but I understand that the carers who are proactive and face doing personal care for people who are 'difficult' are putting themselves into a challenging situation. Thanks for your responses.

 

[Dunroamin]

I think you are on dangerous ground to have such a view without proof