Dear Pam!
This is true in India as well, perhaps to a greater degree. But negligence forms the greater part of this abuse. There is callousness and bullying on the part of the nurses and junior doctors - even though the senior doctors are civil enough. People who think they have the power of life and death over weaker people invariably become tyrants in their behaviour towards the weaker ones. This is sadly human nature. That it should happen in nursing homes is the worst aspect of this bullying. In India the relatives of patients have woken up to this menace and frequently beat up the hospital staff -- but this triggers off a strike in the hospital with the hospital shutting down and people waiting in the streets even for emergency aid. So the hospital wins in every situation. They kill people and then falsify the medical records so that they are never caught. Rape in hospitals is common where the patient has no relatives visiting her. I dont think society will ever be able to get rid of this malaise - the police, the doctors, the people in power, the politicians, the government servants are always bullying people not to forget the teachers who bully their students and children..Sometimes I think that the only punishment these people get is from the relatives of the patient who give them a sound kicking -- for that is the only treatment that keeps them off the patients for a while at least...
Thanks for this vital international post! Sad but true!
Yours,
Priya
Wow Priya those stories are terrible! It's unbelievable that you'd have to deal with that in your country. I know you've mentioned this before, about the Drs and treatment, and I feel so bad. What are people to do if this is what they are faced with in India?
Since the care that you receive there can be so poor, it doesn't suprise me that patients would have to resort to this type or recourse.
Take care and I hope you and your family never has to go through this. Thanks for sharing your incredibly touching and sad story.
Pam
Thanks so much for bringing attention to this issue. When my mother was recuperating in a nursing home, she attempted to get out of bed by herself and fell and broke her pelvis. She crawled back to her bed. The nurses didn't believe her and kept telling us she dreamt it. Finally, 12 hours later, the x-ray tech arrived and it was negative because they only x-rayed her hips. My sister and I took her to the doctor the next day and it turned out her pelvis was broken. It was a horrible experience for all of us. It is so sad but so important to be vigilant and make sure your loved ones are being taken care of properly.
Eileen
Eileen I'm so sorry this happened to your Mom! A broken pelvis is an incredibly hard fracture to get over! I know that you can't bear weight for a long time and I'm told it's so painful. Someone mentioned how there was no way to get into a comfortable position with pelvic fractures, so it was like torture 24/7.
I'm glad you and your sister were vigilent, but we shouldn't have to do this! Thanks for sharing your story and I hope your Mom healed entirely from this horrible type of fracture.
Take Care...
Hi Pam
As I read your post...it just really makes me sad. There are so many people who depend upon others for their care and to be abused...it is just incomprehensible. The statistic about hiring people who are criminals is especially frightening.
My mother is in a personal care home and has been there for years. I feel fortunate and grateful that the people taking care of her treat her with dignity and respect and genuinely care for her. We may all be in such a position one day...to depend upon others for our well being. It is a vulnerable position to be in.
Thank you for sharing this information with us...it was an eye opener for me.
Hi MM, I'm sorry your Mom is in a situation like this, but at least she is in a caring facility, for which you can be very grateful. What Lene said about visiting often and never at the same time sounds good, but I wish we didn't have to do this. It sounds like your Mom is in a nursing home that doesn't require that so I'm very happy about this.
The statistics were very eye-opening, since I had no idea about most of them. I knew about the horror stories, we've all heard them, but some of the stats were new to me.
I remember when my grandmother was in a nursing home and we made sure someone visited daily, otherwise she wouldn't get to eat. The nurses figured she could feed herself, but she couldn't, she had a stroke after fracturing a hip. I remember when we were leaving and walking down the halls how you'd see so many patients passed out in their food and NO ONE would help them. If you said something they always said we have to take care of the more medically needy first, those with more serious problems.
I hope you get to see your Mom as often as you like and I pray she is OK where she is.
Here's some ideas and a checklist on choosing a good Nursing Home from USNew and World Report.
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I knew someone who worked in the nursing home to which my father was admitted. One of her recommendations was to visit often and be very unpredictable in terms of when we went. If the staff don't know when you will be arriving, there's a greater likelihood that they will make sure your loved one is always well cared for. It's a sad, but necessary part of having a loved one in a care facility.
Very helpful post. Thanks Pam!
Hi Lene, that is very sad! But if that works and protects your loved one, then it's good advice.
Sorry your family and Father had to go through something so terrible.