Are your parents safe in a Nursing Home? (Video) CBC-Marketplace

[T-Man]

Video:
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/grey_black_and_blue/

The greatest danger old people face in nursing homes? Other residents

Stories of elder abuse in long-term care facilities usually involve rogue staff. So you may be surprised to learn that the vast majority of violent assaults in Canadian nursing homes involve one resident attacking another.

You may be even more surprised to learn that the problem has been growing for years, and that one public report after another has recommended changes (to funding, to training, to institutional protocols) but that these recommendations have been systematically ignored.

In this episode, we take our cameras into several nursing homes in Ontario. We don't have to wait long to see the violence first-hand. As Erica Johnson reports, it's a complex problem with a complex solution, mostly dependent on funding.

On average there are now four attacks reported every day in Ontario. The Ontario government's own documents reveal that one in five nursing home residents is now considered "highly aggressive."

What to do if someone you love needs long term care

Before a move into a care facility:

1. Ask about assaults. Find out how frequently they happen, and what procedures are followed for intervention and prevention.
2. Ask about staffing levels. Ask how many of the staff are trained in handling patients with dementia. What is the staff to resident ratio?
3. Visit the home. Don’t do just one tour; also visit unannounced. Visit at different times including during meals and at night. Does the home smell? Are staff available? Are the residents lining up in the hallway or wandering around? Does there seem to be anything for residents to do?
4. Visit different floors. Ask to see different floors in a home, including any locked wards. If your request is refused, that is a good sign there may be problems on other floors. Generally the first floor has the residents with the fewest behavioural issues, because that location is closest to the door.
5. Talk to people. Does the home have a family council? Talk to people on the family council, talk to residents, talk to family members.

After move-in:

If you have questions or concerns about resident to resident abuse in a long term care home, first discuss your concerns directly with the home's administration.

If you witness an incident of abuse, immediately alert staff and make sure the incident is recorded in writing.

If your concerns are not addressed to your satisfaction, contact the ministry responsible for Long Term Care in your province.

[JAGpilot]

After seeing a documentary (CBC? WFive?) a few years ago on nursing homes, I am very distrusting of nursing homes and I know that once your totally out of it (alzhiemers/incontenient) it's not a pleasant life. My grandmother was in one for 1.5 years but she at least was mobile (with a walker) and able to eat/use the washroom herself. She needed assistance with bathing but otherwise she was ok. I still always kept my eye on the staff and how they treated her and other residents. She was in a different Leisureworld home which seemed to be much better than other's I have heard of. The staff I knew seemed to be quite good. Her floor had people who were more mobile but I remember once going to the dementia floor (3rd floor) and I couldn't be there for more than 5 mins. It was depressing knowing the people there were pretty much just an existence, nothing else. This is why I support some sort of euthanasia. There is no point in living if your just going to lie in a bed till your dead. Thank god my grandmother died in after 1.5 weeks in the hospital so I didn't have to see her in a bad state for too long. The best thing is if you have someone in a nursing home is to keep your eye on them and visit them frequently. This shows staff that you actually care. Lots of people get no visitors (which is very disgraceful) so the staff would rather attend to the people who might have family coming (family coming means abuse will be noticed).

I have told my parents I will never let them be abused. They'll have the best care money can buy.

[cheapmeister]

Gov't nursing homes are crap (my opinion). They have a high turnover of employee's to do the job and they are understaffed and probably under trained. It can be crazy in there and I hope I never end up in one of them!

[felixdd]

On a related note:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...3///?hub=WFive

(video doesn't work but the story is equally chilling)

[JAGpilot]

On a related note:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...3///?hub=WFive

(video doesn't work but the story is equally chilling)

That is the documentary I was talking about. It put me off nursing homes forever.

[molala]

if affordable...private retirement homes are better...but not only seniors nursing homes...but other nursing homes could be crappy too...i have a friend who used to work at a group home where residents are adult with intellectual disabilities...some of the staff talk to them like garbage...i think it's about the quality of staff...

[sexpuppet6000]

Is this about government retire homes? I didn't feel up to reading the entire article. If so, it just shows how important saving up for your retirement is. I guess yo old as's getting a beat down if you spend on your money during your working years instead of putting money in rrsp.