Panorama Undercover Care: The abuse exposed

[julesmarie]

I dont understand why the reporter just watched? I know he was trying to get a real sense of what it was like but how can you stand there and watch it and do nothing. Some of those people could have been damaged irreparably whilst he was there.

 

This was our thoughts too, Yes he was filming undercover, but wasn't he there as a worker, in which surely, (well I and many others would) help or tell them to stop, that wouldn't have blown his cover.

[iphonelover]

Absolutely disgusting, all the individuals who work at this home need either arresting and/or banning from working with vulnerable adults ever again. As other SF members have posted this problem is endemic throughout the private healthcare area which deals with elderly or challenging behaviour adults. I can clearly relate to the whistleblower & his challenges in attempting to address the poor & illegal care given to the clients.

 

What’s even more upsetting is the other nurses although not identified as being part of the abuse are just as guiltier; they have a professional duty of care according to the NMC code of conduct. They must have been aware; they should have intervened, as they are the protectors and voices of their clients, I have always been aware that care in the homes lack the quality in which the clients deserve but this way beyond my expectations.

 

Dont think anyone can even be bothered to read my previous post, but i will reiterate one thing, it does not happen in all care homes dealing with eldery and/or mental cliental base.

[llamatron]

That's a bit like saying he is to blame, or partially. Without that evidence the care home would still be operating and the prisoners still being tortured.

 

No it isn't in any way! It's like watching someone being beaten up and doing nothing about it but then going to be a witness at court. How can you do nothing while something is happening in front of you and you can stop it?

 

It is a case of giving up on the one for the good of the many, the thing is these people could be mentally scarred for life because he took no action. Those people were really scared and confused and he did nothing at all to help them.

[llamatron]

Absolutely disgusting, all the individuals who work at this home need either arresting and/or banning from working with vulnerable adults ever again. As other SF members have posted this problem is endemic throughout the private healthcare area which deals with elderly or challenging behaviour adults. I can clearly relate to the whistleblower & his challenges in attempting to address the poor & illegal care given to the clients.

 

What’s even more upsetting is the other nurses although not identified as being part of the abuse are just as guiltier; they have a professional duty of care according to the NMC code of conduct. They must have been aware; they should have intervened, as they are the protectors and voices of their clients, I have always been aware that care in the homes lack the quality in which the clients deserve but this way beyond my expectations.

 

and similarly the reporter should have stepped in, in the extreme cases.

[Rand Hobart]

CQC say that on this occasion they didn't take the right action. On this occasion? The whistle blower contacted them three times. Once could be a mistake. Three times is proof to me that they are a major part of the problem. The spokesman even got a bit arsey at one point, when it was being pressed home to him. Heads should role. From the home, right the way up the ladder to and including CQC.

If the government are serious about stopping this, and are not just embarrassed and wanting it to go away, they should set up a whistle blowers hot line and request to everybody working in the industry to call it if they know of such a situation. Maybe then we can have a better idea of just how widespread this is.

[ronthenekred]

No it isn't in any way! It's like watching someone being beaten up and doing nothing about it but then going to be a witness at court. How can you do nothing while something is happening in front of you and you can stop it?

 

It is a case of giving up on the one for the good of the many, the thing is these people could be mentally scarred for life because he took no action. Those people were really scared and confused and he did nothing at all to help them.

 

As has been explained, the whistleblower made many attempts at reporting the abuse and was ignored. The event he filmed didn't just come out of the Blue, it was a catalogue of past experiences he was frustrated with. He could have resigned, he could have got involved there and then. All that would do is postpone the abuse for a very short time. His action has now blown the whole thing out of the water. Because of his actions those abused are safe, for now. For the betterment of something, sometimes you just have to lay away your anger, frustration and sentimentality.

 

Getting back to the wider issue that cavegirl and Arguendo have made I'm of the opinion that carers shouldn't have to expect a reasonable income or recognition, those should be a natural result of the way our communities respond and acknowledge our carers. They shouldn't have to look to us, we should certainly look to them. You can't fix a problem with money if you don't accept or at worse ignore the issue of not caring for the caring industry. It has to start at the bottom and work up, not just a short term pretty respray which will no doubt happen.

[Minimo]

What may prove to be a really good effect of the Panorama programme is that other cases may now come to light which had been hidden.

[Arguendo]

Dont think anyone can even be bothered to read my previous post, but i will reiterate one thing, it does not happen in all care homes dealing with eldery and/or mental cliental base.

 

You don't have to justify your home, accepted there are homes who are exceptional, & congratulations to them, however I wouldn't expect anything other. However the problems highlighted on Panorama may possibly be the worse example of bad care, believe me I've seen some bad care in my time but this took the biscuit.

 

Poor quality care in homes is endemic & it's not caused by poor wages or working conditions, it's caused by staff that do not care, by poor nursing management who blatantly ignore the problems. Take a look at the link in my previous post, the link highlights the problem from a nursing perspective, it does not show poor care by healthcare assistants, because they are not registered.

 

Furthermore it does not take a university degree to be able to give care, caring for another should come naturally with passion to help others, they are given training to understand & manage patients/clients in particular circumstances. A good healthcare assistant is worth their weight in gold, a bad one can do immense damage.

[espadrille]

Qualifications don't necessarily create reasonable human beings.

 

 

Also. Do you know any of the qualifications of any of the staff?... because I watched it and never saw any information about qualifications of most of the staff. All was said was 'anyone can apply for support work'. It never said any of them had/hadn't got qualifications. You are getting ahead of yourself again.

 

Not only would I expect people who are working for 6.50/7.50 to treat other human beings with repsect, I would expect people who volunteer/ and work for absolutely nothing to treat people (especially vulnerable people) with respect.

 

You seem to have a monetary value on human to human care.

 

I don't care whether the staff in there were on minimum wage; no-wage; or £130,000/week, there is absolutely NO excuse for that behaviour towards people who are incapable of looking after themselves, regardless to how much they were/are paid.

 

I 100% agree with you on this.

 

Getting the right people for the job s not at all about how much we pay them, it is about knowing what kind of person will do this kind of job effectively.

 

It is also about training ,about knowledge, empathy and awareness that people who have learning disabilities see the world differently to other people and as such they need much more patience, understanding and support.

As to what attracts the right person to those jobs in the first place is more to do with the management side to be honest.

It could be that the people who manage these homes have little or no interest in the people who use the service and their families and their individual support needs.

A total failure on a catastrophic level by the homes themselves, by the management and staff and by the so called regulators who have failed yet again to ensure that basic standards of care and support are upheld.

Absolutely shocking but not really that surprising.

 

Someone needs to take the problem by the scruff of the neck and get on and actually do something about it.Not have endless discussions and meetings but actually do something immediately before more people suffer at the hands of a callous and ineffectual system.

[iphonelover]

You don't have to justify your home, accepted there are homes who are exceptional, & congratulations to them, however I wouldn't expect anything other. However the problems highlighted on Panorama may possibly be the worse example of bad care, believe me I've seen some bad care in my time but this took the biscuit.

 

Poor quality care in homes is endemic & it's not caused by poor wages or working conditions, it's caused by staff that do not care, by poor nursing management who blatantly ignore the problems. Take a look at the link in my previous post, the link highlights the problem from a nursing perspective, it does not show poor care by healthcare assistants, because they are not registered.

 

Furthermore it does not take a university degree to be able to give care, caring for another should come naturally with passion to help others, they are given training to understand & manage patients/clients in particular circumstances. A good healthcare assistant is worth their weight in gold, a bad one can do immense damage.

 

Im not justifying my home at all, what im saying to people is dont let bad homes ruin your outlook on ALL care homes as there are some good ones out there!!!

Many times people get caught up in negative aspects of the media and easily lose sight and start tarring all things with the same brush. Im encoraging people to remember that good homes and good carers are still out there. Do your research, spend time in the home, speak to residents, listen to word of mouth, speak to local gps etc... And the people who need to look will find some good ones.