Should care workers be banned from using mobile phones following 3 yr old being thrown in crocodile pit by man with severe learning difficulties

Yes all they need is phone that only allows calls that is provided by their employer not the same circumstances but whenever I was taking children on a school trip we had to collect and sign for a mobile that belonged to the school use of a personal mobile was not allowed

My husband worked in a children's home and often complained about co workers texting whilst on duty. Nothing was ever done to stop it

In my company they are not allowed their mobiles, they just have the company phone in case of emergencies.

Shinamae

Most of you know I’m a carer and I work in a high dementia care home
Before that, I did work with people with learning disabilities and I remember I took one lady to a hospital appointmentand a member of staff came over to me and she said you’re the first person I’ve seen who actually talks to the person they’re supporting
And I see now regularly on the bus a man who’s obviously got learning difficulties and his carer doesn’t say a word to him on the journey, It’s very sad……
Most Care work is very poorly paid. I’ve been in care now over 20 years and I’ve always been on minimum wage but I’m lucky because I really enjoy my job but with so few jobs around people take what they can get. I see really young people doing support Work and I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing that when I was there Age but when I was looking for work, there were plenty of jobs around in fact you could leave a job one day and be starting on a new job the next day and I actually did that I was working in the chemist and a man came in and asked me for French letters (I was 15. and very naive, about the only time I was)of course I didn’t know what that was. I was only 15 Mrs Parsley who was another assistant came out and said it was okay Gail I’ll take care of that so lunchtime came and I went up to Woolworths and I started in Woolworths the following week no CV no references nothing at all.
It’s no excuse I know, but it is a fact and I really think caring should be a profession and not looked on as a lowly career because that’s how it is looked at by many people…😬

Couldn't agree with you more.....many years ago I was a support worker for people with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour. It is very low paid, low status and poorly regarded. Of course in the early 90's I had no mobile phone and there was no internet as such. I was always very vigilant and conversing with the people I worked with. Unfortunately it can be quite stressful and often not very stimulating work. However, I have to agree that banning mobile use, unless in an emergency or urgent need would make sense, though I am sure there would still be workers that have lapses of concentration. Staff need good training and be valued....most of the organisation's that now run these services are private for profit organisations........hence very poor pay and conditions. I think a lot of people take on these jobs as a stop gap, not seeing it as a vocation. Have to admit I also took my support work role for experience to go on to University and become a social worker. It was however invaluable experience.

Why was at least one care worker not beside the person being escorted? Beggars belief.

It’s easy enough to blame the care workers in the same way we all blame the social workers in the Preston Davey case. On reflection none of them are the culprits who are the real ones to blame.

If this person was so unpredictable and dangerous he should not be allowed out, supervised or not. It seems his rights trump those of everyone else. He should be held in a residential or medical facility. He’s clearly very dangerous.

And good for you Primrose53 reporting them.

Primrose53

It is reported that the person who threw the child into the crocodile enclosure was in the “care” of two support workers who were sitting down playing on their phones several yards from him. Witnesses say he was being ignored by staff.

I regularly see support workers or care workers in charge of small groups or individuals with learning difficulties ignoring their charges and using their phones.

I have reported this on 3 occasions to a local centre because they are putting these vulnerable people at risk by not doing their job properly. Once a young woman was almost hit by a reversing car and another time a young man ran into the road because he was not being supervised.

I also see adverts for people to do these jobs and no qualifications or experience is necessary. I wonder what training they get.

I understand a work phone is necessary if there is an emergency but I still think their personal phones should never be used while they are working.

I agree Primrose. While care workers are looking after vulnerable people, they are actually working and their clients should be their first priority. In most roles, people are not allowed to use their phones extensively while they are doing their jobs! Of course a phone is needed for emergencies but not for playing games and scrolling.

The world has gone crazy when people who work as carers and nurses tending to people are paid pittance yet footballers get paid obscene amounts to kick a ball around. I do think that there are carers that take the job because it is the only thing they can get, locally there are endless adverts begging for carers in job vacancy columns so this does attract the wrong type of people, who do not necessarily 'care'. The problem is only going to escalate as society has an ever increasing elderly population thanks to medical science keeping people alive for longer, and also the increase in special needs kids/adults everyone seems to have a special needs label nowadays which requires extra assistance/entitlements. So it is not going to get any better as there are not enough resources to cope with demand.

Unfortunately, you can't train empathy into someone, however many certificates they may hold in "care".

Hopefully, a few of the perpetually glued to their phone types, might give a thought to how much trouble they'd be in if it had been them in this situation.

Primrose53.
Totally agree with you. Well done for reporting too. More people should stand up for those less fortunate.
I’ve seen groups of highly challenged young people and quite shocked at the persons (so called carers) supervising them.
I agree it’s not caring at all.
I’ve have done caring in my time. Trips etc. all I can say is we always enjoyed each other’s company and laughed together a lot.
Just need the right people not the ones we see today. Just done on the cheap. I don’t know how the authorities get away with it.

On the good side, a swimmer in the next lane, with obvious mental difficulties was encouraged by his carer as he ploughed up and down the lane, then escorted by her to the changing room for people with disabilities. No sign of a phone at all.

I worked in a care home for the disabled (I wasn’t a carer but was admin) and I was always annoyed as the care staff were always on their phones - even when they were supposed to be having one to one with the resident

One carer in particular would go into the toilet - and could be in there up to 46 mins and we suspected was on their phone

Even the residents would complain but management didn’t do anything about it

Graphite

^... wait and see what the outcome of the enquiry.^

I agree.

I have only seen the police and some non-speculative news reports but it occurs to me that if any 30-year-old man can approach a small child, pick him up and thrown him into a crocodile enclose then:

a) the enclosure needs better fencing and

b) the child’s parents weren’t paying full attention either.

Looking at the photo it strikes me that someone holding a small child who wriggles out of their grasp could fall in or even, at a pinch, wriggled under the fencing.

Are you a parent? Any parent of small children knows that it only takes seconds/ a minute of inattention and the little one has moved fast to somewhere else!
Decades ago my active 18 month ? 2 yr old ? Toddler son was strapped firmly into his push chair. I was at an outdoor market and asking a question of the stall holder, but kept glancing back at my restless son. On one glance back …he wasn’t there. He had undone his straps and disappeared!! I was terrified! The stall holders all helped in the search to no avail, and what seemed like an hour passed when someone led him back from the Tescos around the corner where he was found eyeing the Pick and Mix sweet section! It was literally less than a minute in which he had unbuckled and raced off to the shop he knew was around the corner in a yellow outdoor babygrow! He was a very bright baby ! Still is bright now at 48!

When I complained about the use of mobile phones in my Mother's Nursing Home I was assured that the carers were making notes on the online system so it wasn't as it seems. However, I have overheard them showing things on line that they'd like to buy, talking about stuff posted on their social media, etc but if the management aren't going to make a fuss about it, there isn't anything I can do.

I have read in the news that the man in question had two carers with him, and both were sat away from him on their phones.

If that was indeed the case, if they wanted to look at their phones, why didn't they take it in turns so that at least one of them was with him all the time?

Did you have to use your own phone for work?
When i was an agency worker I did, but in my "proper" job we had work phones.

I know all companies are different.

There are obviously good carers around who do their jobs well and should be commended . However carers jobs are so poorly paid many people don’t even consider applying, they do not get the respect they deserve but the other side of the coin is the carers who are on their phones constantly and the vulnerable person gets no interaction or stimulation so these incidents happen. There should be a basic work phone available for emergencies and personal mobiles should be left at work. Pay them more for a start and give them appropriate training.

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys !

I was a carer before retirement and absolutely yes needed a phone as my rota changed numerous times a day and was 'live' so came on the phone. Also any updates on clients (change of medication, falls allergy's etc) came by phone so please don't judge until you know. Training, yes they all get training to the local authority standard, and have continual learning modules.

I second that.

LovesBach how lovely to read that. What a wonderful carer.

I can't imagine gping put for the day and not speaking to the person I'm with.

While hospital visiting over many hours, I sat opposite the bed of a disabled man in his forties, who was without speech. He had a carer with him constantly, and the staff told me that the hospital had to pay for this service. The man was ignored all day, the carers only putting their phones down - or being woken up by staff - to nominally assist when he needed personal care or feeding.
On Chrismas Day a woman came in with several large bags. She set up drinks, nibbles, mince pies and some fairy lights on his trolley, and had brought several games including a huge Connect 4 . She was a carer - and he came alive, played games, smiled and was animated. I told her that it had been a joy to watch her with him, and she expressed her disgust at those who sit scrolling on phones.

MissAdventure

That doesn't excuse not doing your job properly.

Quite frequently care staff are not given the training or managerial support to do their job in a professional manner. There is no team building to imbue a sense of responsibility. I could go on but don't want to rant.

Poppyred

Nobody seems worried that he has been freed on bail (to do harm to another child) ??

I did wonder about that myself. The thing is, as he's 'unfit for interview', according to the police, he can’t be held for questioning.

There may well be conditions attached to the bail granted.