While on the subject of "Sir Bob" and his interest in world poverty,perhaps he could get Jamie Oliver to come into some of our care homes ,as a report has found that thousands of elderly people are being underfed in them.Poor quality food and eating too little has left lots of them at risk from malnutrition.This means that they loose their strength and ability to walk,also a lot of old people are unable to feed themselves,and lack of staff means that they go without.After all its costs enough to keep them there,most have worked all their lives,so why shouldnt they eat well.Remember,charity begins at home !:|

Once again, privatising these services has led to vulnerable people suffering.

yes i also believe in charity begins at home oaps have done a hell of a lot for this country and deserve to be well looked after
not just tossed to one side its about time this country put its own house in order

Originally posted by pattricia
a report has found that thousands of elderly people are being underfed

Can you provide a link to this report pattricia? Or can you tell us the title and author? I'd be interested in reading it in more detail.
Thanks - Red

Originally posted by pattricia
While on the subject of "Sir Bob" and his interest in world poverty,perhaps he could get Jamie Oliver to come into some of our care homes ,as a report has found that thousands of elderly people are being underfed in them.Poor quality food and eating too little has left lots of them at risk from malnutrition.This means that they loose their strength and ability to walk,also a lot of old people are unable to feed themselves,and lack of staff means that they go without.After all its costs enough to keep them there,most have worked all their lives,so why shouldnt they eat well.Remember,charity begins at home !:|

Based on my experience of working in a care home, then I couldn't agree more about the dietary issues. Sadly I feel it reflects the poor attitude in general of today's society towards the care of the elderly. In too many instances their basic entitlement of being treated in a respected and dignified manner is sadly missing. Whilst ever our care homes operate as a means to make ever growing sums of money for the owners rather than to seriously provide for the needs of such a vulnerable section of our society, the problems will persist. The idea of having standards by which such establishments can be measured and monitored is fine in principle but yet again these inspections are too easily fudged.

I am not keen on Jamie Oliver as a television personality but if he were able to effect the same change in residential homes as he has in schools, I would certainly eat a large plate of humble pie.

I work for a care company and I am not surprised in the slightest that some elderly people go under-fed. The company I work for has taken steps to make the meals served more nutritionally balanced, but, because of cost issues, this has meant a vast reduction in choice at mealtimes. Some residents, who simply don't like what is being served, go without, because no alternative is offered. It is not unheard of for the manager of a home to buy food for residents using their own money.

Privatisation has caused these problems. We have to choose between nutritional food with no choice of meals, or a choice of meals and poor nutritional content. We also cannot get enough staff. The reason we cannot get enough staff is because we pay minimum wage. Our staff are earning the same now as staff did 8 years ago under the local authority. Pay rises just about cover increases in minimum wage. The company is not-for-profit, so the low wages are not profit-driven. It is simply a case of lack of funding. The government keeps promising to look at funding for social care, but they have been constantly diverted by the much higher profile problems of the NHS and schools. More funding would mean more staff to help with feeding, more choice at meal times, whilst maintaining/improving nutritional standards, and attracting people into care work who are better suited than the majority of people we currently attract, and will retain those good carers we do attract (at the moment, anyone who is good at the job trains up and then leaves for better paid work in the NHS). What scares me is that my employer is one of the better providers of care - I dread to think of what goes on in some of the private, profit-driven homes.

This issue has to come to the top of the government agenda. We have an aging population which means the need for social care is only going to increase and the problems found inside homes are going to affect more and more people.

The same happens in hospitals too... my short experience in a hospital brought it all home...the lack of true nursing in traditional ways for caring with seriously ill patient's feeding requirements...the problems with medication left for elderly patients with pills untaken by their beds when they were dozing, and in one case a very serously ill patient left for hour upon hour with a nebuliser unattended till the ward stank of burning rubber when the seals got overheated...that patient died several hours afterwards, although this may have not been the cause of his death.

I could write chapter and verse after just about 10 days in there...but I had better not do that here. I came out healthier than I went in....but the set up bears no relationship to the fundamental nursing that I believe happened years ago when cleanliness and patient well-being was paramount in nursing care...not degrees....but real commitment to the patient. Sorry if I have offended any real nurses, but the real ones will know who the career ones are. I may get banned for opening my mouth, I truly hope not.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pk014b7161
[B]yes i also believe in charity begins at home

But it doesn't end there.

Link

Care homes 'need a Jamie Oliver' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4563392.stm)

On the BBC site.

I cant help thinking that the person who benefitted most from Jamie Oliver's very public blasting of school dinners was Jamie Oliver. He's coining it in from Sainsburys by endorsing all their grub and now he's flogging those glorified jam jar things to mix a few herbs in.

PS on the carehome front, who knows, that could be us in one of those places in the future. I cant see my kids looking after me somehow.

I saw this report and whilst it's appalling, this isn't really news as more generally there have been reports of the elderly residents being underfed and/or abused in nursing homes previously....see 'exposes' by the likes of Watchdog et al....

Originally posted by alysonpeach
I cant help thinking that the person who benefitted most
PS on the carehome front, who knows, that could be us in one of those places in the future. I cant see my kids looking after me somehow.

mines all ready telled me they,ll not look after me ! ah well
theres nowt like gratitude. dunt the future look bright, sat there in a nursing home wearing a nappy & getting watered twice a day & force fed if tha dunt like wots on menu.
death where is thy sting

Originally posted by banesmabes
I work for a care company and I am not surprised in the slightest that some elderly people go under-fed.

The company is not-for-profit, so the low wages are not profit-driven. It is simply a case of lack of funding.

This issue has to come to the top of the government agenda. We have an aging population which means the need for social care is only going to increase and the problems found inside homes are going to affect more and more people.

I was heartened to read your posting and feel that both yourself and the residents are very fortunate to be in a non profit making environment. Based on my experiences though I still feel that this is the exception rather than the rule.

Not only are there insufficient numbers of staff but the poor wage structure attracts a calibre of applicant who often finds themselves undertaking a role that they are not only ill-suited for but also incapable of doing to any degree of success. Being able to understand English is one thing but being able to hold an empathetic and meaningful conversation with an elderly, dementing person is another. Our local dialect and sayings often prove to be a huge barrier in these situations.

I wholeheartedy agree with you that this issue has to be addressed sooner rather than later. I would repeat my comments in my earlier posting that the elderly population should be treated with dignity and respect as a given right and not the subject of potential profiteering. (accepting that some pockets of good practice, thankfully, still exist)

Originally posted by pk014b7161
mines all ready telled me they,ll not look after me ! ah well
theres nowt like gratitude. dunt the future look bright, sat there in a nursing home wearing a nappy & getting watered twice a day & force fed if tha dunt like wots on menu.
death where is thy sting

Euthanasia looks appealling doesnt it?

Originally posted by grandadtee
I was heartened to read your posting and feel that both yourself and the residents are very fortunate to be in a non profit making environment.

It does make a difference. I have interviewed for new carers who have come from working in private, profit driven homes and some of the things they tell us are appalling. Like night staff having to get the residents up and dressed at 4:30am because the day staff refuse to do it, residents being left in soiled sheets all day, staff being afraid to speak up to management about possible mis-treating of residents because the homes are family-run and the person mistreating residents is part of that family. This is not the sort of service you can run with profit in mind, because then the residents play second fiddle to how much money can be made.

Originally posted by grandadtee Not only are there insufficient numbers of staff but the poor wage structure attracts a calibre of applicant who often finds themselves undertaking a role that they are not only ill-suited for but also incapable of doing to any degree of success. Being able to understand English is one thing but being able to hold an empathetic and meaningful conversation with an elderly, dementing person is another. Our local dialect and sayings often prove to be a huge barrier in these situations. [/B]

Exactly. The saying "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" is completely true. We struggle to attract the right kind of people into care work, because the right kind of people can earn significantly more elsewhere. I am embarrassed having to tell an experienced carer that they will not earn any more than someone new at the job, and to top it off, that it will be minimum wage, and they will get no extra for working night shifts. The increments are insulting - an extra £3 per week for a full time worker (before tax!) for having gained a year's service. We do rely heavily on immigrant workers, without them the company would collapse, they are about the only people willing to do such hard work for such low pay. But language is sometimes a big problem, especially, as you point out, when they are working with residents who have demetia or hearing problems anyway.

Originally posted by grandadtee
I wholeheartedy agree with you that this issue has to be addressed sooner rather than later. I would repeat my comments in my earlier posting that the elderly population should be treated with dignity and respect as a given right and not the subject of potential profiteering. (accepting that some pockets of good practice, thankfully, still exist)

It is incredibly depressing to see some care homes not caring a bit about their residents, when people in the company I work for try so hard, within the very limited scope of the resources we have, to give our residents dignity, respect, independence and freedom of choice, just as any other person is entitled to. But we can only partially meet these needs as things stand at the moment.