Symptoms of Nursing Home Abuse: What to Keep an Eye Out For

When you make the decision to put your loved one in a nursing home, you expect them to have the best care possible. You expect to have complete trust in the doctors, nurses, and the rest of the staff. After all, you are making the tough decision to move them into an assisted healthcare facility because your loved one needs professional care. They should be treated and nurtured with the utmost care and respect, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Nursing Home Negligence

The transition into a nursing home environment is already daunting as it is. You do not need the burden of a nursing home acting in negligence and putting your loved one in danger on top of everything else. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many nursing home residents.

According to the National Center On Elder Abuse, about 10 percent of aging adults in an assisted living facility or nursing home have experienced some form of abuse. If your loved one was abused in a nursing home setting, it is essential to reach out to your trusted nursing home lawyers as soon as possible.

However, understanding the circumstances that lead to nursing home abuse is the first step to preventing your loved one from being harmed. So if you are planning on placing your loved one into a nursing home, here are the most common causes of nursing home abuse.

Understaffed Facility

One of the biggest causes of elder abuse inside a nursing home is understaffed facilities. A nursing home can only function like it is supposed to if it has the workforce to do so. It is essential for staff members to have the support and help they need in order to properly care for patients.

If a nursing home is severely understaffed, workers will begin to cut corners, drop responsibilities, and prioritize certain patients over others. In addition, an understaffed facility can put extra stress on workers turning the nursing home into a hostile environment and opening the door for neglect and abuse.

Undertrained Staff

Another cause for abuse is an undertrained staff. Caregivers have specific duties and must be properly trained in order to treat patients correctly.  If the staff does not have the proper training and experience, they will not have the ability to provide the treatment the nursing home residents require. It is crucial for the staff members to have the experience and education to provide medical attention, personal care, and the proper support the residents deserve.

Underpaid Staff

No matter how well trained a caregiver maybe, if they are underpaid, they may not take their job seriously, which could have dire consequences for the residents. Without adequate pay, the staff will not be motivated to provide the best care possible, which can lead to abuse and neglect. At the same time, underpaid workers can be filled with stress, resentment, and anger which could be taken out on the residents.

Poor Management

Like most industries, the staff is only as good as its management. If a nursing home does not have outstanding leadership, the whole nursing home could suffer. A manager must provide the best supervision required to run a safe nursing home operation. If management lacks the motivation, knowledge, will to provide proper guidance to their staff, neglect can become a significant issue.

Lack Of Consequences

One of the leading causes of nursing home abuse is the lack of consequences for caregivers that have acted in negligence. Unfortunately, many cases of elder abuse within nursing homes go unreported, and if they are, they rarely get investigated. If nursing homes are short-staffed or are worried about being shut down, they will not have the motivation to report the issue. At the same time, if an abusive staff member goes unpunished, even if caught, they are more likely to continue the abuse.

Understanding The Causes

When researching nursing homes to place your loved one in, it is essential to understand the common causes of negligence and abuse. When deciding on a facility, make sure to ask how many workers are employed, how they are paid, and how they are managed in order to find the right nursing home for your loved one.

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