CanadianGran
We have a residential home where several disabled adults live together in our neighbourhood. We see the adults out walking with their care workers often, so I do know that they get their exercise. I have noticed though, that lately the workers are all recent immigrants, and I do wonder about the level of communication, especially because some of the disabled adults do not speak very clearly.
I agree that the skill level seems to be on-the-job-training, and I do hope the level of care is up to standard or above.
I was in a former life, the Registered manager of a Care Home for Adults with Learning Disabilities & Challenging Behaviours. I LOVED IT! It was what I was trained in as a nurse and it was my perfect job, before my health declined and then they wanted me to 'train' as a Registered Manager! As it was I had to find something more part-time and less volatile, not that it was always so ....
I was fortunate, as the majority of my staff were there because they were doing degrees in Psychology, and wanted experience, and the others were there because they wanted to be. We were all a very happy bunch really. We had planned activities every day, swimming, bowling, carriage driving, art, visits to town etc and I did what I could with the money available. Problem was some residents had a lot more money than others did which caused a few issues amongst them.
I now have carers of my own - they are treated abysmally! Paid minimum wage; get no travelling time so are often over their hours at the end of the day; none have a contract, therefore no work, no pay; no pensions; no annual leave, no sick pay, AND something I learned yesterday, those that aren't drivers, have to pay someone from the company to get them to their clients!!! They've all been lovely (bar one who was kind but kept leaving my keys dangling from the key safe, and after the 5th time as as I am now living alone, I said that I don't want her coming. She also let one of my dogs out, who fortunately my daughter came across running down the middle of the road!)
Hospital nurses though, some leave a lot to be desired!! Having had 24 lots of surgery I have a great lot of experience with them! Why oh why did they get rid of the State Enrolled Nurses? They were the ones that wanted to be there, were experienced and cared. Now nurses do not do any caring at all as we did, they strut around looking important. The ward were I always end up on recently ha about 6 Sisters, well what they do I have no idea, other than wandering around with doctors on ward rounds and tapping into a computer? Care is purely done by Nursing Auxiliaries, some of which are good, and some of which leave a lot to be desired! On my last visit, there was a lovely little old lady in the bed opposite me, who couldn't do anything for herself at all. She was always left until last, so no doubt sat in her urine etc for hours, never saw her actually turned, she just lay smiling, bless her. Her drinks were obviously left on a table out of reach by a 'cleaner', her meals were left on there too, then collected half an hour later, untouched by another cleaner. If it wasn't for me popping over to give her a drink, and tell them that she hadn't been fed, then she wouldn't have been! Also left with the sun streaming into her face, or shivering with cold, again if it wasn't for me pulling up her blankets and drawing the curtains, then she would be left .... she was such a sweetie, and it was such a shame ....
Then, in A&E, (in my local hellhole anyway) they no longer give sufficient pain relief - why? It's not coming out of their pockets, but they leave people in agony after being given 2 Paracetamol and 5mls Oramorph, which when your bowel is dying and I have already had more than that at home, is not enough! Why do they now do that? Told from above I suspect?
Nurses make the worst patients because we know how it should be done!
I really do not know why nurses train to be nurses now? Hardly the money is it?
Sorry for the rant!