aged care nursing question about violent patients?

Question

i have a freind who has worked in agedcare for 9 years. anyone in agedcare knows its a unforgiving and soul-destroying place to work. My freind recently was involved in an incident where a patient struck my freind twice while my freind was attempting to put the patient on the toilet during a night-shift.

This particular patient almost always gets toileted at the same time and is known for putting up some resistance as part of the patients advanced state of dementia.

Anyway, after the patient struck my friend and hurt my freind a situation occured where my freind gave the ptient a very light tap on the back of the srist and told the patient not to hit.

Unfortunately for my freind, a new staff member witnessed it and ran off to the boss and dobbed. The witness made an exagerated statement and the matter was investigated.

My friend admitted freely to the tap on the wrist but in a shocking display of proceedural unfairness she was terminated immediately. Does this sound fair??

Answer 1

A patient is a person at the mercy of a series of systems and those who work within the systems.. They must be protected. They are the vulnerable, the weak, the ones in need of care.

A patient with dementia is a person who has no or little control over their actions, words, or feelings. They have no control over their environment and no choice about who cares for them.

I have a daughter who can not speak. In her teens we hired an agency to provide care in our home for my daughter. In her bedroom was an intercom system that remained switched on at all times while these professional carers were with her so that while I was in other parts of the house I could hear what was going on in whatever room she was in.

I sent several carers home on their first day and rang the agency asking to never send them out again. I never told the carers that I could infact hear what they said and did.

On one occasion I sent a woman home because she switched off the intercom system and when I went into the room and switched it back on I told her to leave the system on. She then switched the volum way down low. I sent her home.

On another occasion a carer was dressing my daughter and my daughter either hit or kicked her, I should say my daughter is of a very petite stature and unable to control a lot of her movements, The carers response was to call my daughter a b.i.t.c.h. I sent her home too after telling her it is okay for you to call me names because I can fend for myself but it is NOT okay to call my daughter names.

Another carer locked herself and my daughter into a room, her excuse for this was so that my other very boisterous children would not disturb the 'therapy' session, put music on very loud and while my daughter was placed in her standing frame, a large and uncomfortable piece of equipment, this carer settled down into a bean bag and read a novel while my poor daughter struggled and cried out in distress. I had a key to the door, let myself in and when I saw this spectacle I calmly released my daughter from her standing frame took her to her room for rest and to recover and then went in and dismissed the carer...

All of the above mentioned carers had been through a strict series of checks and balances before being hired by the care company..

After these experiences I sat down and wrote a handbook that I made all carers read on their first shift with my daughter. I told them this is what I expect and what you can expect. The handbook included such things as:
My daughter is a member of a family and all family members interact freely with one another. There is a close relationship between her and her siblings and it is to be remembered that when you move on from this job her siblings will still be there for her. They are an important part of her socialisation programme and an important part of her daily life. Her care needs to blend in with the family not work against it.
Swearing at her or striking her or handling her in a rough way is unacceptable at all times for all reasons. You can use the word No to let her know what is unacceptable. You can use a stern voice.
The manual after a few rewrites was adopted by the care agency, minus my daughters name and identifying details, as part of the manual that all carers for all clients were required to follow.

Answer 2

This doesn,t sound fair, and I am sure there should have been other procedures followed before sacking your friend.
If she has worked at the same place for so many years, she however must know the rules, and no kind of smacking, tapping etc, as reprimand is tolerated.
There are no circumstances where this is OK.
And the home/ hospice/ would have to have strict guidelins, code of conduct, policies and procedures, to follow in all cases that present like this.
Maybe there is an instant dismissal clause.
Whatever the out come, I am sure your friend would have learned a very good lesson from this.
Best practise is best learned and best outcome for all concerned
Dementia is cruel, and anyone working in the aged care workforce should not be there or needs a break, if such an incident has the potential to make someone in the caring roles become violent themselves.
Your friend has worked in the field long enough to know that what she did also is a violent act.
I am sorry to say, I think your friend has left it too late to just take a break, its time to change her line of work.
And not with people who are dependant on her in any way..

Answer 3

This is very unfortunate for your friend. While I know that the patients in these facilities have the right to be as mean as they want, I dont think your friend should have been terminated on the spot. Since she admitted to the tap, she should have been placed on "probation" and had someone assigned to follow her around and see how she treats other patients.
I hope for your friend that this doesnt go on her employment history and follow her the rest of her life.

Answer 4

I have worked in care homes and that is a definite no no , u just cant do it ! How would she feel had someone done that to mother/father .... Sorry but to me it does sound fair , u go into this kind of working environment expecting this kind of thing. U can not justify ever hitting someone elderly or in care no matter how small the tap on the hand was ... I dont think your friend is cut out for this kind of work to be honest!!

Answer 5

I'm a nurse. In these facilities the patient has more rights than you. I have had many similar occurrences just like the one you're describing. I know it seems unfair but in the companies mind the patient at all times should in fact be protected.

Answer 6

Yes If in all honesty you did tap if irritated you dont deserve to be there. On the other hand I raise my hand for the patients who are voilent. They desreve a place in a mad hjouse not in an aged care.

Answer 7

Dementia is something all and sundry gets whilst they get previous ( multiple tiers) no longer something a psychological hospital can exchange, nursing properties must be geared up to deal with this, and your grandmother ought to stay in one for the psychological stability of your loved ones, theres no longer plenty anybody can do for her different than be there for her whilst shes ok, and returned off whilst shes no longer.

Answer 8

i am not sure what state you are in but in tn. NO ONE is allowed to tap hit or even be mean to a patient it is there right to not want to go to the b room. i know you think this is unfair to your friend, but what if it was your mothers hand she "tapped" and you did not know her. regardless in tn that is abuse and she could loose any lis she has and face criminal charges and maybe even a lawsuit for abuse