new member

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
Hello. I have just joined. My mother has had vascular dementia for 5 years. She is now in a care home but has experienced care at home:), hospitalisation:mad:, respite care:confused:, district nurse care:D, abuse by a Social Services carer:(, being 'not wanted' by a home:( and a bad care home :(and a good care home :)in short she and her relatives have had a very eventful five years! ...and much experience to call on...
Tachometer
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
Hi Tachometer, welcome.

You and your mum have certainly been through the mill in the last five years.

I hope you'll contribute some of your experience tp help others.

Best wishes,
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Welcome to TP tachometer
sounds like a No win situation for your mother care home or home care .

abuse by a Social Services care

was your mother living alone in her home , when she had abuse from SS carer in her own flat or house ?
 

hendy

Registered User
Feb 20, 2008
506
0
West Yorkshire
Hi Tachometer
Snap!! Except its my dad and I'm the only one caring for him. I joined TP only very recently and wish I'd found it years ago!! Its such a great support and full of information. Well done for finding it! Are you the main carer tachometer?
take care
hendy
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
Welcome to TP tachometer
sounds like a No win situation for your mother care home or home care .



was your mother living alone in her home , when she had abuse from SS carer in her own flat or house ?

She was not alone, my father was asleep in another room and myself and another carer were present and we saw the SS(appropriate initials) carer knocked her arms off the side of her chair and forced her to stand and shouted orders at her. The result of our complaint and investigation was that she was 'shadowed'. Some weeks later I saw her in a supermarket in her uniform barking orders to some unfortunate companion.
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
Hi Tachometer
Snap!! Except its my dad and I'm the only one caring for him. I joined TP only very recently and wish I'd found it years ago!! Its such a great support and full of information. Well done for finding it! Are you the main carer tachometer?
take care
hendy[/QUOTE
-Yes, an only child, my mother is 94, my father is 87. I have support of my husband....
Our second compliant was about Social Services failing to do an assessment for weeks resulting in a Care Home sending my mother to hospital for 'not eating' when it transpired that they just wanted to get rid of her..a long story...

Our third complaint was about a Care Home which started to 'run down' in all sorts of ways. All of these complaints were upheld and apologies given- I am thinking of papering the wall with them!
after finding a new Home, ....I moved her a few days later..
I had to pay over one thousand five hundred pounds and fin d a top-up fee of forty pounds a week....I got the former back having taken my complaint to stage 2 with Social Services and found the latter by selling small narrow boat...it has all been worth it...I just hope the new Home continues well...I have found after 4/5 years of mother's dementia that I have to be constantly vigilant.
We were fortunate enough to find a recently opened 'showpiece' Home for dementia. She's been there one year and at first it was 2 carers to 8/9 residents ... carers learning each persons favourite song to sing to them when changing, washing etc.... mental health nursing support... very up to date on strategies....very good food...However there have been cuts in staff, the excellent Phillippino Carers have been returned by the government and in some cases replaced with local 'couldn't care less' types. There often seem to be a fairly small pools of local carers who have only experienced poor training at not very caring homes.now it still has most of these but 1 carer to 8/9 residents and not much singing....
Meanwhile, my mother's previous Home had went bfurther downhill and had its core funding withdrawn by the local Social Services and it was sold. It now has a new owner and a new name.
Some thoughts.....
-when my mother was in the care home that was going downhill rapidly, she had begun to stare at walls and hallucinate- on insisting on notes being checked it was found 'she was asleep so medication not given' on several occasions....her symptoms immediately left her on being moved to the better care home...I suspect that she was not given her meds on many more occasions than her notes revealed....

-I was later told by a carer who had worked at the bad care home that one of the carers who gave out the drugs had been selling anti-psychotics at a night club, and that 1 resident in particular was left screaming and rattling bed bars all night for many nights because her meds were stolen....

How widespread is the parectice of not giving medications in care homes?
How widespread is the practice of drug stealing and selling in care homes?
 

hendy

Registered User
Feb 20, 2008
506
0
West Yorkshire
Tachometer
Goodness me your account is a catalogue of neglect and abuse. I have had similar concerns about Dad in a Care home. This one too seemed to be going 'down hill'. A now faced with prospect of him going in another.( bit more positive about the next one) You're absolutely right 'vigilance' is what is required in these circumstances. Yet some people have had very positive experiences of homes. I have been so vigilant recently, it borders on the 'paranoid' at times! However, i have had results in some small way. Care for my Dad has improved. I have promised myself to keep a diary so that events can be recorded, good or bad.
take care
hendy
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
How widespread is the parectice of not giving medications in care homes?
How widespread is the practice of drug stealing and selling in care homes?

I'm absolutely horrified by this! If you can find evidence, it should certainly be reported to CSCI and to the LA.

In John's hame, drugs are only administered by nurses, not carers. They have a drugs trolley as used in hospitals, and this is kept under lock and key when not being used.

There is a cardex on the trolley with a record of each patient's medication, and each time a doctor has visited John, he has asked to see the cardex.

I don't think there would be any possibility of malpractice, and I hope that what you describe is the exception.

But then...........

I do hope you don't have any more bad experiences, it must be so stressful for you.
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
Drugs

At my mother's 'new' home (she has been there a year) all drugs are administered by nurses and there's little likelihood of abuse.
The old home (the one now shut down) is where the drugs were administered by carers.
I've no evidence and was told about the stealing by an ex-carer at the Home- she did say that the person involved was sacked - but re-employed at a later date!

Tachometer
 

connie

Registered User
Mar 7, 2004
9,519
0
Frinton-on-Sea
They have a drugs trolley as used in hospitals, and this is kept under lock and key when not being used.

Have to say that the above, as quoted by Skye, is the same system as they use in Lionel's home. Senior staff only have keys to the trolley, and records are meticulously kept.

Sorry that you have had such bad experiences Tachometer.
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
Have to say that the above, as quoted by Skye, is the same system as they use in Lionel's home. Senior staff only have keys to the trolley, and records are meticulously kept.

Sorry that you have had such bad experiences Tachometer.

The had the same as above at my mother's old Home, however it only took one bad carer to work the system.

The courses for carers to learn how to administer are also very basic- it the old Home it was one run by Boots.

Hopefully, this sort of theft is not widespread, but how would we know?

The fact that residents are often left with their medicines to decide whether to take or not because only the minimum intervention is allowed to persuade the person to take meds, compounds the problem because it is easy for a carer to register that the medicine was taken when it was not.

Tachometer
 

connie

Registered User
Mar 7, 2004
9,519
0
Frinton-on-Sea
The fact that residents are often left with their medicines to decide whether to take or not because only the minimum intervention is allowed to persuade the person to take meds, compounds the problem because it is easy for a carer to register that the medicine was taken when it was not.

If that truely is the case, then it should be reported.:confused:

Not so where my dear Lionel is I am happy to say.
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
If you re-read my second post, you will see that the 'old home' was well and truly reported not just by me, I have reports going into many pages, however that does not cure the system, nor does it help that CSCI is very inadequate.
Tachometer
 

connie

Registered User
Mar 7, 2004
9,519
0
Frinton-on-Sea
O.K. so what is the message that you are trying to put across now?

We all have to do our homework, as best we may, on what is suitable for our loved ones.

However, I would not want members to be put off by horror stories. There are as many, if not more, good homes out there, we just have to be selective.

A minefield I acknowledge. Let us not add to the trauma of placing someone we love into care.
 

hendy

Registered User
Feb 20, 2008
506
0
West Yorkshire
Hello tachometer
I too am coming to realise that CSCI reports are inadequate. How can we guard against abuse and neglect in homes??I realised things werent right and called in Care home laision. But there were other issues which didn't come to light until dad left the home. What would you suggest we do Tachometer to protect our loved ones?
take care
hendy
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
How can we protect?.....

I don't know how we can protect except by visiting frequently (I visit 6 days a week), varying the times of visits, attending relatives meetings and keeping watchful.
I think it also helps to have a plan B (and also probably a plan C!)...like knowing of an alternative good home and/or having a plan for temporary care at home if needbe.
But also entering into the stream of general awareness via these forums etc. is all helping to make people reaslise all may not be well about care homes.
At one stage I did feel like bugging the 'old home' but could never think where to put the tape recorder so it would not be detected!:)

Tachometer
 

hendy

Registered User
Feb 20, 2008
506
0
West Yorkshire
Hello tachometer
And I thought i was paranoid... I hadn't thought of bugging!!
Seriously, thats very good advice. i just wished I could visit Dad that often...
Thanks for your reply
take care
hendy
 

tachometer

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9
0
east midlands
what message am I putting across?

obviously my messages have upset connie. I thought it was a forum for discussing facts. I am very new to forums.
I do not want to upset anyone. I am sure there are good homes. I have met them.
My message is the truth of my story and could I help someone else with it and also that there are many problems regarding care homes.
I notice that other threads discuss these too.

However, I am signing off as it is not a healthy track to pursue.

Tachometer
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
There is of course a fine line between making people aware of potential problems, and making people unduly paranoid. We have (many of us any way) had a variety of different experiences with care homes: some great, some awful, most somewhere in between.

I'm not sure why you have singled out Connie as being someone who us unduly upset. Just because someone doesn't continue to post on a thread does not mean anything other than that they have not posted again on the thread. Nothing more, nothing less.