Another example of Care UK‘s dubious reputation for providing poor care of the elderly residents at its homes comes from Epsom, where the company has been forced to pay compensation to a family for its neglect of a vulnerable resident.
This week’s Kingston Guardian reports how Josephine Cunningham, an 86-year-old from Worcester Park, who had served with the airforce during the Second World War, was left dehydrated and with sores on her body after a two-month stay at Appleby House in 2008.
Cunningham recovered speedily once removed from the Care UK-run home.
Care UK is the cost-cutting company to which former Croydon Mayor Margaret Mead has handed council-run old people’s homes. The Cunningham case follows other worrying reports of poor practice and neglect at Care UK homes.
“I think this incident highlights the casual way the elderly are treated in some residential care homes,” Cunningham’s daughter, Janice, told the local paper. “It is terrible my mother had to endure the pain of the pressure sores.”
Care UK, after making the compensation payment to the family following, said it had learned lessons from the case and changed its operations as a consequence.
That may not be enough to allay the concerns of those with elderly relatives in Croydon’s care homes where Care UK is taking over.
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Related articles
- 3,000 carers’ job cuts proposed at Southern Cross homes (insidecroydon.wordpress.com)
- Care UK care home fails in duty of care (careintheuk.wordpress.com)
- Elderly care done on the cheap at couldn’t care-less Croydon (insidecroydon.wordpress.com)
- ‘The reality is that we can’t get care on the cheap and funding has to increase’ (telegraph.co.uk)
And don’t forget….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3242851.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191587/Doctor-accused-death-12-elderly-patients-sedated-left-comas.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13698487
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/apr/02/longtermcare.socialcare
5% of OAPs in Care Homes, yet it’s 20% of the complaints they get. That was only 3 years ago.
Oversedation is an issue in Mental Health ( where I work ), but also very much effects The Elderly. The principle is simple enough. If a Service User or OAP is heavily sedated they won’t get up to much. This makes it a lot easier to manage them.
For OAPs in Care Homes all these OAPs will do is sit in chairs and stare at the TV or supposedly listen to the radio. Nice and easy to manage sure, and they get plenty of rest, but where is the Quality Of Life?
If these homes had more staffing, and better trained staff, there’d be more activities. And less boredom leading to tantrums and illness? Well, yeah.
They’re called Therapeutic Activities. Part of Occupational Therapy. And what they do is give you something fun to do that takes the stress off. Even someone with dementia can enjoy some painting for example. And many OAPs like Chess, card games, reading the papers, all sorts. And because you have had some fun you are less ill. And happier due to this. It enriches the quality of your life in retirement. But these staff cost money. As do the carers needed to assist and move people around etc etc so that they can join in with groups.
And that’s the problem. Some managers and staff are so unscrupulous they will instead drug OAPs so that they just dribble whilst sitting in the same chair all day. They turn them into cabbages. It’s easier to manage, and less risky for accidents and injuries. It’s also cheaper on the staffing bill.
Sick eh?
One for you to think about as you decide whether privatising Care Homes is actually a good idea or not. These are your elderly relatives after all. It’s only right you know.
My daughter in law has been complaining rigorously regarding her mothers deterioration and neglect in a Care Uk care home. At present her room is again in such an appalling state that it has a heavy infestation of bedbugs. We had a visit at 8.30 am this week where someone calling himself a psychiatric social worker repudiatedd the severity of the situation. All the blame was once agin laid at the door of the person who needed “looking after” Sh is impossible to look after . In reality she is not she simply neglected and deteriorating. This woman is on ly 50 sh is deserving of a better life . This woman is seriously diabetic people are coming in from the street and taking advantage of her . She is in short according to Wandsworth receiving specialised care but she s not she is being seriously neglected and then being blamed. Care Uk you say hah.