Disabled woman ‘left to die’

[Itrytoplease 10]

Irrespective of having or not having a mental illness, Irrespective of the alleged abuse she said, Irrespective of who cancelled her care, the fact remains 1 - She was left on her own with no support. 2 - The council has a duty of care, no matter what! She was let down.

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Ms MacBeth and I are simply questioning the dogma that home care is always preferable and more cost effective than residential care. That is all.

 

Well yes, I thought we were having a discussion, not 'attacking' or 'swiping' at anyone.

 

Pleased to see the local authority have instigated an urgent enquiry into why the care was withdrawn. I hope the findings are made public.

[Fogey 10]

Ms MacBeth and I are simply questioning the dogma that home care is always preferable and more cost effective than residential care. That is all.

 

I apologise for my presumption.

[Olive 10]

No worries, easy to get caught up in a busy discussion

[Lex Luthor 10]

Regardless of the circumstances, the local authority had a statutory duty to provide care. There is no get-out clause, the duty remains whatever the circumstances. I've worked with people with a wide range of needs all my life and had to deal with all sorts of stuff. There was one guy whose necrotic leg ulcer needed dressing everyday, and which was done to an accompanying volley of vile verbal abuse. I didn't refuse to do it, I just had to think about what had brought him to that point in his life and be grateful those things hadn't happened to me, whilst reminding him that he shouldn't swear at people and that I was helping him. There is no excuse for leaving people to die.

 

You, Sir, are a gentleman amongst men. If only all carers were like you.

 

On behalf of the gentleman you refer to in your post, and any other people who were fortunate enough to be cared for by you, please allow me to thank you, sincerely.

 

Unfortunately the level of 'care' that many unfortunate people in this country receive is appalling, and, in some cases, like the one in this article - none existent.

[Itrytoplease 10]

Regardless of the circumstances, the local authority had a statutory duty to provide care. There is no get-out clause, the duty remains whatever the circumstances. I've worked with people with a wide range of needs all my life and had to deal with all sorts of stuff. There was one guy whose necrotic leg ulcer needed dressing everyday, and which was done to an accompanying volley of vile verbal abuse. I didn't refuse to do it, I just had to think about what had brought him to that point in his life and be grateful those things hadn't happened to me, whilst reminding him that he shouldn't swear at people and that I was helping him. There is no excuse for leaving people to die.

 

Off subject, but did the person get better regarding the ulcers? I ask because my mother suffered from the same, so much so they wanted to take her leg off. she was told to keep the leg elevated but it was so bad she couldn't move/lift it, However a care worker brought her some pain relieving patches (used in treating cancer she said) and she was then able to keep her leg elevated and recovered in a few months.

[Bob Arctor 11]

Off subject, but did the person get better regarding the ulcers? I ask because my mother suffered from the same, so much so they wanted to take her leg off. she was told to keep the leg elevated but it was so bad she couldn't move/lift it, However a care worker brought her some pain relieving patches (used in treating cancer she said) and she was then able to keep her leg elevated and recovered in a few months.

 

Sadly not, but he lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. He had been a rough sleeper for many years and despite now having somewhere to live he still spent most of his time outdoors. He was very cantankerous and ignored all medical advice. He was what is known as a "character"

[Itrytoplease 10]

Sadly not, but he lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. He had been a rough sleeper for many years and despite now having somewhere to live he still spent most of his time outdoors. He was very cantankerous and ignored all medical advice. He was what is known as a "character"

 

That is sad. I don't know why an elevated leg helps with healing, but it does, I googled pics of a "necrotic leg ulcer" and they looked bad, but not half as bad as my mothers, how they saved her leg I'll never know, but I do know this pain relief was the catalyst of getting things going.

[Bob Arctor 11]

You, Sir, are a gentleman amongst men. If only all carers were like you.

 

On behalf of the gentleman you refer to in your post, and any other people who were fortunate enough to be cared for by you, please allow me to thank you, sincerely.

 

Unfortunately the level of 'care' that many unfortunate people in this country receive is appalling, and, in some cases, like the one in this article - none existent.

 

Well thank you, but I was no different to any of my colleagues. I do wonder what has happened to the care and support sector in this country. When I started out in it (in the above mentioned job) there were a lot of graduates doing those jobs, who later went on to have careers in social work, mental health and other lines of work. But the wages stagnated over the years and now it seems to attract a lot of people who just want/need a job. I'm not knocking them, but the system doesn't develop skilled people. In the care sector it's common practice for workers to pay for their own training - you generally have to pay for your own DBS check, manual handling training and so forth. I can't imagine many low paid workers can afford to pay for training in how to work with challenging behaviour or get some specialist knowledge in areas like brain injury, for example.

 

I also wonder what impact the prevalent outsourcing of these jobs has had. In this case, the woman in question has had numerous care providers - the vast majority, if not all, will be private companies who are allowed to refuse to provide care, even though the local authority has a legal duty to provide care - it's a mad system. If Portsmouth does have its own in-house service and they have failed to provide care, then they are in deep crap.

[Anna B 1,410]

Home Care work now has a very negative image. Not only is it not well paid, but these workers are unable to do a good job even if they wanted to, because of time restraints. If even any kind of job satisfaction is denied, then why would people want to do these jobs at all?

 

The whole sector needs a thorough overhaul and a radical rethink. It is one our most necessary and important sectors and to do it well is a real vocation. Both clients and carers deserve better.

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Home Care work now has a very negative image. Not only is it not well paid, but these workers are unable to do a good job even if they wanted to, because of time restraints. If even any kind of job satisfaction is denied, then why would people want to do these jobs at all?

 

The whole sector needs a thorough overhaul and a radical rethink. It is one our most necessary and important sectors and to do it well is a real vocation. Both clients and carers deserve better.

 

I agree Anna. I think it's poorly paid partly because it's considered unskilled, and partly because historically it's 'women's work'. Years ago my mum had a 'home help' provided by the local authority. There seemed to be more consistency, but I suppose it's been outsourced mainly to save money.

[Obelix 11]

Sadly not, but he lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. He had been a rough sleeper for many years and despite now having somewhere to live he still spent most of his time outdoors. He was very cantankerous and ignored all medical advice. He was what is known as a "character"

 

I think most people working in that field know of "characters". I had one guy probably very different to yours and similar in many ways who used to crash in my garden shed. We came to the agreement that he could as long as he didn't break anything or take the mickey. He'd be there most cold nights, some times I'd not see him for a long time, then middle of one winter I never saw him again.

 

Alcohol was his problem as is with some many I guess. I presume he died but I never did find out. If you are willing to help and care for such people I lift my hat to you sir.