Disgraced at nursing home!

[Victoriabar]

My friend is a social worker for the mentally challenged adults and elderly folk (I'm sure neither is worded politically correct) and she's had to follow up on a fair few amounts of elderly bad care in "care" homes.

I would say find out who the local SS team are and have a friendly lil chat with them about your concerns.

What area are you based in?

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[Buff]

My mum was in a care home until recently, we were billed £12 each time her toe nails were cut by the chiropodist so I made sure I got there first. If a person has the "mental capacity" to say she doesn't want her nails seen to then there is nothing the staff can do even when they have a diagnosis of dementia and are making poor decisions about their own health and well being.

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

Surely there comes a point where the well being of the patient is more important than the protocol?

Consent isn't protocol. It is allowing the patient to come first.

 

[GracefulH&B]

I'm a nurse and a foot health pracitioner. The thickened nail can be caused by disease, infection (fungal nail infection) or there are medication that cause thickened nails. The skin look like eczema. A bit of steroid cream and/or epiderm (as it has no lanolin in it) would probably clear this up. Did you get the clients consent before taking the photo? I would be very careful with taking photographs of dementia clients even with their consent. I was involved with a disciplinary case a few years ago involving somebody taking a photgraph to prove their point and THEY ended up loosing their job because they were in breach of their contract (photographing vulnerable adults is a sackable offence in most cases). I would contact the home manager explaining how upset you are at what you have witnessed and ask her/him to investigate the issue. Ask for them to notify you within 28 days or you will have no choice to take the issue further. If you are really concerned, contact the clients GP, voice your concerns and ask for your client to be reviewed.

HTH.:hug:

 

[Eternity1979]

I'm sure if the home is a nursing home then there should be trained nursing staff there as well as carers and if a care home then it just have carers. If this is a nursing home then where are those who are medically trained to help this look after this poor lady? I worked in homes as a carer for many years and have seen some awful cases of neglect in the elderly. Well done on trying to speak to the member of staff and the daughter about it, if I was in your shoes I'd take it further.
Hope you get somewhere and she gets sorted soon xx

 

[Nearlyme]

Does any body else think that tis post should be deleted? Do you have permission from the lady to post pictures of her feet? And if she has dementia her permission may not be enough.

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[Ryk]

I'm a nurse and a foot health pracitioner. The thickened nail can be caused by disease, infection (fungal nail infection) or there are medication that cause thickened nails. The skin look like eczema. A bit of steroid cream and/or epiderm (as it has no lanolin in it) would probably clear this up. Did you get the clients consent before taking the photo? I would be very careful with taking photographs of dementia clients even with their consent. I was involved with a disciplinary case a few years ago involving somebody taking a photgraph to prove their point and THEY ended up loosing their job because they were in breach of their contract (photographing vulnerable adults is a sackable offence in most cases). I would contact the home manager explaining how upset you are at what you have witnessed and ask her/him to investigate the issue. Ask for them to notify you within 28 days or you will have no choice to take the issue further. If you are really concerned, contact the clients GP, voice your concerns and ask for your client to be reviewed.

HTH.:hug:

I agree! be very careful my partner worked in mental health for many years and he left very disillusioned. I am sure the law is similar for the elderly but service users at the hospital my partner worked at were allowed NOT to wash, cut their hair, change their clothes, clean themselves etc if they chose not to because if you made them it is against their human rights !

 

[Panoramic]

Care is a vocation .,.. who else would you blame? The elderly person, the system, the family?

If one loves people enough to do the job, then one wouldn't watch them suffer, with no one to care for their needs. It could be any one of us one day; our parents or friends.

I agree but as I found out you need to do the job and then you realise it's not that easy. This sort of thing is common.

I don't agree that a photo of it should be on here either. Especially if this woman has dementia. I don't think she would want the world to see her feet

 

[ch-ela]

I agree! be very careful my partner worked in mental health for many years and he left very disillusioned. I am sure the law is similar for the elderly but service users at the hospital my partner worked at were allowed NOT to wash, cut their hair, change their clothes, clean themselves etc if they chose not to because if you made them it is against their human rights !

I agree with this too. My partner also works in this area and is constantly frustrated about restrictions in his job. It's all about personal choice. People have choices and it's not for "us" to disregard this.

 

[nicole333]

You may not be aware that nobody from the home will be able to discuss this lady and her care with you as they will be in breach of confidentiality.

You obviously are very concerned and do not feel listened to and it sounds like you feel you are this only lady's hope. But, they may already be dealing with this and you have no entitlement to be told this information. It's how it works I'm afraid.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Its funny how often in the UK "political correctness", "protocol", "consent", "procedure" etc.. call it what you will, can ride rough shot over decent behavior, common sense and compassion.

If I were that lady, dementia or not, of course I would want someone to actually do something to help me. While all the so called professionals are passing the buck in their "procedure" game, this poor lady needs help just to make her comfortable.

I would not have left my mother like this. I sincerely hope my children do not leave me like this. If they do, I don't care who helps me or how they do it - put a photo of my feet on News At Ten if you want, just someone actually do something to sort it out. Nail Tech, window cleaner, gardener I don't care who it is that cares enough to help.

And... if I have dementia, how the heck am I going to give "consent"? I expect by that time "consent" regarding my money and just about everything else will not be required because of my dementia??? Just my basic health needs then?

 

[saberhagen]

have thought long and hard about this. The legal ramifications are huge, both for the op, care home and possibly even the forum. I personally think the original photo`s should be deleted and should not be in the public domain. I would suggest the OP report the matter to social services.

In this case there are many complex issues, not least of all human rights, consent & confidentiality.

i would be very careful, this is not the simple case you may think it is.

Nursing colleagues you have my support in what you are saying

 

[aayspa]

Well some of the responses from fellow geeks are just as shocking as the state of my poor clients feet.

I would expect anyone in this industry to have the compassion to care and see why I am so upset for her and the way she has been neglected. But instead I've had excuses being made and told that its not my problem and to leave it alone. Quite honestly I am disgusted at some of your responses and don't understand why you are so careless and heartless or even in this industry!

I am not in the business to make a quick buck but to treat and care for my clients. Yes maybe I get too close but I'd rather that than be a robot that just does the job I'm told and leave the other issues for someone (or in this case no one) to see to.

I have modified my original post and deleted the image although it still seems to appear?! Perhaps the mods can sort that out for me. To all those that have accused me of wrong doing etc yes of course I asked for permission in the first place to take the photo. I asked several times in fact just to make sure but it seems we are all about politics these days and not the caring human beings we used to be.

Thank you to those who offered support and advice, your responses were welcomed and I'm glad I'm not the only person that horrified. I will do all I can to help this lady and will become much more attentive to all those in homes that I treat and I will keep an eye out for any form of neglect. There are no excuses for it!

As for "legal ramifications" for trying to help someone, well what has the world come to! Absolutely ridiculous.

 

[SerenityNailz]

Well some of the responses from fellow geeks are just as shocking as the state of my poor clients feet.

I would expect anyone in this industry to have the compassion to care and see why I am so upset for her and the way she has been neglected. But instead I've had excuses being made and told that its not my problem and to leave it alone. Quite honestly I am disgusted at some of your responses and don't understand why you are so careless and heartless or even in this industry!

I am not in the business to make a quick buck but to treat and care for my clients. Yes maybe I get too close but I'd rather that than be a robot that just does the job I'm told and leave the other issues for someone (or in this case no one) to see to.

I have modified my original post and deleted the image although it still seems to appear?! Perhaps the mods can sort that out for me. To all those that have accused me of wrong doing etc yes of course I asked for permission in the first place to take the photo. I asked several times in fact just to make sure but it seems we are all about politics these days and not the caring human beings we used to be.

Thank you to those who offered support and advice, your responses were welcomed and I'm glad I'm not the only person that horrified. I will do all I can to help this lady and will become much more attentive to all those in homes that I treat and I will keep an eye out for any form of neglect. There are no excuses for it!

As for "legal ramifications" for trying to help someone, well what has the world come to! Absolutely ridiculous.

Well done you for going with your instinct hun- I'm sure the same people who are chastising you for your actions would be equally as quick to say something negative if you ignored this poor lady's feet and god forbid something bad happened as a result - yes protocols are in place to protect the vulnerable but it seems that you are the only one in this case with this lady's best interest at heart - good for you I say!

x x

 

[Arty*Rox]

I'm a nurse and a foot health pracitioner. The thickened nail can be caused by disease, infection (fungal nail infection) or there are medication that cause thickened nails. The skin look like eczema. A bit of steroid cream and/or epiderm (as it has no lanolin in it) would probably clear this up. Did you get the clients consent before taking the photo? I would be very careful with taking photographs of dementia clients even with their consent. I was involved with a disciplinary case a few years ago involving somebody taking a photgraph to prove their point and THEY ended up loosing their job because they were in breach of their contract (photographing vulnerable adults is a sackable offence in most cases). I would contact the home manager explaining how upset you are at what you have witnessed and ask her/him to investigate the issue. Ask for them to notify you within 28 days or you will have no choice to take the issue further. If you are really concerned, contact the clients GP, voice your concerns and ask for your client to be reviewed.

HTH.:hug:

My heart goes out to this poor lady, when you go to care for her nails maybe you could ask one of the nurses if you could apply some of this cream the OP suggests? Obviously she really needs to be seen by a podiatrist but is this something aayspa could do until this happens if at all?:irked:

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

You may not be aware that nobody from the home will be able to discuss this lady and her care with you as they will be in breach of confidentiality.

You obviously are very concerned and do not feel listened to and it sounds like you feel you are this only lady's hope. But, they may already be dealing with this and you have no entitlement to be told this information. It's how it works I'm afraid.

This is the whole point. And as for having procedures, protocols consent (as someone mentioned before), they are essential and are there to protect patients. ie not plastering photographs on the net. If I were her daughter, well, I don't know how I would feel.

As for dementia, well the original post states early stages or words to that effect. Dementia is an extremely complex mental health condition and just because someone has a diagnosis of dementia they don't give up their right of discussion, choice or consent. ( this being a prime example why there are regulations and protocols).

 

[Abbie101]

Fair play to you actually caring for this poor lady that obviously no one else is! As for the picture if you hadn't taken a picture I'm sure you'd get people saying you need proof/picture if your going to put in a complaint, it's like you can't win! Well all I can say this lady's lucky to someone like you put her health first! x

 

[Mobile Manicure]

I also on the rare occasion work in a care home and one of my clients with mental health issues had faeces under her nails. I brought it to the attention of the careers who then quickly went and cleaned her up. Some staff complained and said it was my job to do their nails and clean them. I will happily do a manicure but I am not cleaning faeces from my clients, no matter where it is.

I explained to the staff that you could not go to the hairdressers if you were covered in head lice. You would be recommended a treatment and sent away until you had it sorted. Same goes for me and faeces.

Good for you for kicking up a fuss. Had they not cleaned my client up I would have certainly taken it further too! Sorry, I have no pics of the faeces.

 

[libbylou]

hi and i would report them without a doubt,care quality commission 03000 616161, email [email protected]
and well done for speaking out. x

 

[Claire@OBNMK]

Procedures, political correctness, pah!

I haven't seen the pic but by the description it sounds bad.
We are trying to find grandad a care home and i really hope there will be someone like you at his new home, someone who cares and puts the resident first, good for you.

xxx