Wednesday 8 September 2010

carers but not caring.

Mum has a new morning "carer"( i use the title loosely ) Tracey has changed her hours to be able to take her children to school,and wouldnt be here til after 10.15,and thats plain too late.she will still however do the thursday mid-morning call back,so we will still see her. now Tracey dear,if you read this,because its not on the black journal but in the open so to speak,you had your faults,you were always in a rush,but you and mum got on so well.now,this new one is supposed to start at 8 until 8.30. she started monday with us,we have had her once before,and she frankly is NOT a carer,she arrives at 8.15,and is gone before 8.30.in fact today it was 8.18,and left at 8.27. 9minutes. NINE MINUTES.to give a 89 year old frail lady a wash,cream her back,put voltarol pain gel on her knees. she just stands the far side of mums bed and hands her the flannell. quick slap on with cream,through to me to sign and goes. she told me the first morning that Extra Hands,the company she "works"for does not give the girls any travel time. so she leaves Bale (a small village ,very bad roads)at 8,and has to be in Stiffkey at 8.(plainly impossible as i amaround 8 to 10 miles,from there). so she doesnt get here til 8.15.and we are getting 15 minutes of "care"instead of the 30 mum is supposed to have.she only puts 15 minutes down on the sheet i have in mums care plan. well,isn't THAT handy. i am giving her 2 weeks,and at the end of those 2 weeks i am emailing her firm, and sending copies to my social worker/assessor,AND my MP. tomorrow mum is supposed to have a shower.the care plan clearly says so. now,we are NOT going to ask her to shower mum,and will see if she does.i think i can safely make a bet she will not mention it to mum. this firm she works for,again loosely speaking,ALWAYS has adverts in the local Press,the free papers we get,various posters in shops.they cannot keep staff.if they do have good,decent,hard working,CARING staff,they work them to death by giving them more and more jobs,using staff to try and cover for staff who are ill,on holidays etc. THEY DO NOT HAVE RELIEF CARERS TO COVER. 1 lovely lady who used to come here went as "rapid response",her job was to be on call to cover for any unexpected problems,staff going off sick,etc. they got her doing so much she is now on extended sick leave. and this is a company who provides the majority of elderly and housebound peoples care needs.
Mum is lucky,she has me living with her,but how many lonely,confused,infirm elderly people are there in Norfolk,in East Anglia,in the UK in general,for who that morning carer is perhaps the only face he or she will see until some sullen,uncaring "carer" rushes in at lunch time,heats their food,and rushes off. chatting,laughing,CARING,is all part of the job.OR SHOULD BE.i was once told by the company that "their girls don't have time to chat,if the work is done its off to the next",my reply was,then they are NOT doing the job you are being paid a lot of money to provide.namely CARING.
Please remember it may be YOUR mother or father who needs care,it may be you.the care we provide for our elderly in this so called "caring"country is apalling. poorly paid,poorly trained staff,inept office "managers" all contribute to make care UNCARING. and i have had enough.As a MS sufferer there is always that chance I may need full time care one day,if i do i pray it will not be provided by the company that provides mums "care".take care all.

11 comments:

Jan said...

Every thing you say here is so true Mort ,I can vouch for what you say ,I had many a battle with the 'Carers' when I was a manager of a sheltered accomadation for the elderly ,and knew what I was talking about because I had been a caregiver myself ,prior to the managers job,and can honestly say I did care ...love Jan xx

Adirondackcountrygal said...

Mort, that is so very sad. One of the things I hated about working in the nursing home was the lack of time we were given to take care of our residents. Impossible work loads are heaped on the nursing assistants which therefore gives them only about 15 minutes of time to wash, dress, lift, do mouth care, hair care etc.. on these poor people. You can imagine how much was not done. What a shame your Mum has to put up with bad caregivers. I would not even wait two weeks. I would contact the agency immediately and complain! You are paying for service and you should get it!

jack69 said...

To some it is a job, nothing more. To others, it is love on two legs. The elderly deserve that.

Yes your mum is fortunate to have you, some folks have no one.
From the state of Idaho in the USA
Sherry & Jack

Sybil said...

I am so sad that the "care" you are having is so bad. I think it is awful that the NHS or whoever are paying for this "care" and that the carers themself get so little for trying to do the job under very difficut circumstances. No one can do a job properly if they have such a work load...somone must loose out and unfortunatley it is the in this case you and Mum. We have such a differnt care here in witshire. My sister has carers come from 8-9 1-2and again 6-7 They are not expected to do any housework just make a meal for both Sarah and John wash up etc. the morning one or the afternoon one usually changes Johns bed and gives him a wee wash (he is not able now to stand in the shower) Sarah also has an overnight sitter from 10-7am. So we are well provided for and we are thankful for that.
Love for now Sybil xx

Richie said...

This post brings it all back. The stress we were under when we used an outside career was destroying Herrad. The best were good but overworked. The worst was an outright swine. Most were just under trained and over stretched.
I have a stinking cold today and feeling pretty sorry for my self. Your post is a good reminder why I do it all my self-even with a cold it is better than those idiots coming here!

ADB said...

Some are indeed swines, Mort, others well-meaning but strangulated by the 'system' - not always is the NHS prepared to serve its carers. Dreadful.

Lucy said...

I can not understand why they claim to be carers. I did that for a while after Alan died and If you can not do right by the one you love, Your mum, then they need to not be carers. I am just so sorry you can not get a decent person who your mum will be comfortable.

Yasmin said...

That's outrageous Mort, whether she live close by or not is not your problem she's employed to do ajob and should be doing just that.

Yes your lucky your mum has you I've seen many elderly neighbour left to fend for themsleves and it's shocking that they don't have even their most basic needs met.

Hope things work out or you can get a new carer.

Regards to Mum and you take care

Yasmin
xx

Herrad said...

Hi Mort,
Your post is excellent,hope your mum gets a new worker who wil do what they are supposed to do.
But 30 minutes here, there and everywhere sounds like a stressful job.
Remember when I worked as a carer here, at first before they privatised the work it was a good job.
I went to two clients per day, start at 8 am by client's house 4 hours in the morning and 1 hour for lunch and 4 hours in the afternoon at the second client's house.
PLenty of time to give them breakfast, chat with them, clean then consult with them as to what shopping they wanted.
Some wanted to go to the shops with me, others needed to go to doctors or dentists appointments or just for a walk.
The they privatised the work and suddenly I was going to 4 people per day and just before I left it was three in the morning and three in the afternoon literally rushing in rushing round with hoover and cloths, getting shoppping and out the door no way to treat people either clients or staff.
Imagine how many people you have to go to or 30 minutes a go.
The woman that comes to you right now is taking the piss no one gets paid travel time she needs to leave home at 7.30 to 7.40 so she can drive safely and arrive on time like every other worker.
Love,
Herrad

Ken Riches said...

15 minutes just is not enough time to do anything. Hope you get a positive resolution.

Beth said...

That's terrible, Mort. I hope you can get this problem resolved soon. XOXO