Residential Care Nursing Home "vent"

dannie

I was disgusted and 'sickened' by a member of staffs behaviour whilst visiting a relative. Have you ever had to choose the best course of action? Waited until it happened again and directly dealt with the person/home directly? Telephone or email complaint - if so to who? Chose to remain anonymous to "safeguard" the persons position?

Eventually,did it make the persons situation or yours better or worse?

mountainofdebt

Haven't had to do this but if you were going to make a compliant I think it would be best to put that compliant in writing and for the letter to be signed.

Personally I would write to whoever is in charge of the nursing home in the first instance and then escalate the compliant upwards if necessary.

Also if you feel that strongly about the incident I would not be prepared for it to happen again.

Torry_Quine

You must make a complaint to the home. I would suggest contacting the person in charge either in person or letter/ phone call. If you don't get a satisfactory response then contact the local authority as all Care Homes have to be registered. There is also the Care Commission.

dannie

Thanks mountainofdebt and Torry Quine for your opinions. I do feel very strongly about the incident. No way would I want any of the seen behaviour to occur again. I am dismayed about it ever happening again (to anyone). As this relative has (in my opinion) had lots of suffering in their life, it deeply saddens me that the staffs' behaviour may not have been isolated.

I wonder whether I could make things worse by taking direct action regarding this relatives continued care and also for myself whose health has deteriorated. So this is why I mention remaining anonymous; can this be effectively done?

oldone_2

Your actions would depend on if the relative was paying their own fees, or if the local authority foots the bill. If it is the L.A, then a complaint in confidence to them is the way to go. If they are paying their own way, a complaint to the owners suggesting a different home may be found if this is not sorted.Of course many older people in care homes are reluctant to move from familiar surroundings, but if the treatment they are receiving is not up to standard, then a move must be seriously considered.

Errata

The Home will have a complaints policy and a copy of it should be freely available as well as all residents being given a copy. Following the policy, make a complaint to the registered manager of the home and if the resident's fees are being paid by the local authority, send a copy of the complaint to the social work team for older people and also to the inspectors (used to be CSCI but the name's just changed).
If the member of staff abused the resident, have a look at the Action on Elder Abuse website.
HTH

mountainofdebt

The only problem in doing it anonymously is that anonymous letters don't get treated seriously especially if they are going to be sent to external agencies.

dannie

Thanks for the above replies. 'Will have to "sleep on it" now. Tomorrow, I will look at my notes concerning the incident and then hopefully be clearer upon things.

allycat999

The care quality commision has replaced the regulatory body CSCI. Have a look at their website, it will give you advice. From your brief account it sounds like abuse in which case an APF1 form should be completed.
Feel free to pm for advice. In the meantime have a look at http://www.cqc.org.uk/

Torry_Quine

oldone wrote: »

Your actions would depend on if the relative was paying their own fees, or if the local authority foots the bill. If it is the L.A, then a complaint in confidence to them is the way to go. If they are paying their own way, a complaint to the owners suggesting a different home may be found if this is not sorted..

It doesn't matter whether the person is paying their own fees or not. The local authority is always responsible for the standards in a care home and you can contact them if you have a complaint.

doelani

Torry_Quine wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether the person is paying their own fees or not. The local authority is always responsible for the standards in a care home and you can contact them if you have a complaint.

I agree, my mum was in a nurning home and I once had a casue for complaint, nothing serious, but spoke to the matron/manager and it was dealt with. The person I complained about never treated my mum any different afterwards.

You really need to discuss your concerns with the person in charge immediatly