Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse is something that should be researched prior to moving to any nursing home or place that offers assistance for you or your loved ones. While many homes don’t intentionally injure or abuse their patients, injuries can and do occur. Abuse and injuries occur from many different sources. This could happen from staff that are improperly trained or lack motivation to do their jobs properly, basic neglect of patients, and other forms of abuse. Abuse can happen too from staff failing to properly identify what a patient’s needs are.
How to Tell if Abuse is Occurring
Abuse from a nursing home is not always one of the easiest things to spot. This is because abuse can happen in a few different ways:
- Verbal Abuse
- Physical Abuse
- Neglect
When someone is being abused verbally then there are a few different ways to spot this. When you visit with your loved one and they seem to be acting differently around certain staff or look visibly scared around them then this may be a sign of abuse. Always listen to your loved one and take their concerns seriously. If they are sounding off the alarm bells about staff treating the patients poorly then be sure to listen closely. Physical abuse may be seen too in nursing home patients. This may be seen from cuts, bruises, scratches, broken bones, and other physical injuries.
Neglect at a Nursing Home
Neglect is another common form of abuse at nursing homes. When a patient isn’t given adequate exercise time and is left to stay in their beds it’s quite easy for bedsores to develop or blood flow issues. Patients also need to have certain medicines administered each day. If staff forget to administer this medicine to patients it could have negative consequences. The same can be said for not intaking enough water for patients. Nursing home patients should be given an adequate amount of water each day to ensure that they are being taken care of in this regard. When a nursing home fails in this endeavor then the patients can be affected negatively.
Improperly Trained Staff or Lack of Staff
Nursing homes, like many industries, can be affected negatively by turnover or lack of motivation by workers. A lack of staff can be quite bad for a nursing home that depends on having enough staff to properly care for patients on a daily basis. Around-the-clock care may be required for some patients and some nursing homes may be unable to accommodate this even if they originally stated that they could. Always do your diligent research about nursing homes and whether they have a high staff satisfaction rate and adequate amount of staff to cover all hours. If you believe that your loved one is being abused or neglected at their nursing home then consider reaching out to a nursing home abuse lawyer Chicago, IL from a firm like Disparti Law Group. A lawyer can help hold the guilty party responsible for their abuse and help the family and victim receive compensation.