Friday, October 18, 2013

You pay peanuts, you get...

Care home workers apparently, though I have to admit I do know of some care workers in old peoples homes who are absolute gems so this isn't an attempt to tar them all with the same brush.
Telegraph.
Residents were left thirsty and malnourished and staff falsified medical records at Orchid View care home in West Sussex
Nineteen elderly patients died amid "institutionalised abuse" at a care home where residents were left thirsty and malnourished and staff falsified medical records, a coroner has ruled.
In five cases, the neglect suffered by residents at Orchid View care home in Copthorne, West Sussex, was deemed to have contributed directly to their deaths. Lawyers representing the families of residents said evidence uncovered during the inquest "showed signs of profits being out before the well being of residents". They also claimed that the Care Quality Commission had questions to answer over why it gave Orchid View a "good" rating in 2010, and why no steps were taken to intervene after serious failings were identified by a second inspection four months before its closure in October 2011. The home, which was operated by the Southern Cross group, has since reopened under a new name and management.
I've always believed that one of the measures of a civilisation in the modern world is how we treat our elderly, our infirm and our disabled and frankly it does appear that the UK is slipping into a form of barbarism where the elderly are farmed off to the cheapest institutions to care for them rather than families taking care of their own as happened in the past. Not that society makes it easy for the looking after of such, the push towards both adults in a family to have jobs has not made care of the older folks an easy task rather than only one breadwinner as was the norm in the past. The consumer society does have a lot to answer for, though that certainly does not excuse the actions of the staff at the care home.
Neither I or Lady QM have had to place any of our parents in care for which we are truly grateful, nor am I criticising those who do. But if you have no choice then it really does look like a case of caveat emptor with many of those involved in the systematic abuse still working in the industry as no charges have ever been brought to staff or management.
It does appear the UK is slipping slowly into barbarism bit by bit as money is placed before decent care and compassion.

1 annotations:

johnd2008 said...

Thing that puzzles me ,is why no one ever seems to be sacked, prosecuted or disciplined afterwards.The same applies whenever a young child dies because of institutional failings.