Elderly Patients Tied Down and Drugged

One out of five elderly patients tied to beds and chairs and drugged? This report from New Zealand is chilling. Senior home staff overwhelmed – elderly patients suffering.

Please, if you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home – be vigilant. Keep your eyes open for neglect and let the management know you are watching.

The most frightening line, “We were told that many go into these facilities independently mobile and continent, and in a matter of months are unable to walk, are incontinent and have all but lost the ability to make even the most basic decisions,” the report said.

An expert working in the industry said that, on average, 22 per cent of elderly people in hospitals were tied to beds or chairs for hours or placed in beds with restraint rails so they could not get out.

The report also said anti-psychotic medication was prescribed to make residents more manageable.

In New Zealand, prescription-drug usage was 42 per cent higher in aged care than the international standard, the report found.

Aged-care workers reported such practices as incontinence-pad rationing, infrequent showers, buzzers being moved out of reach so residents could not call for help, and residents being left malnourished or dehydrated because staff were too busy to help them eat or drink.

“A number of caregivers told us they were advised by managers not to talk to residents, because it was not in their job description, and anyway there was simply not enough time to carry out even the most functional chores,” the report said.

via Elderly patients tied down, doped up – report | Stuff.co.nz.

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