By Laura Franklin, Editor Bay of Plenty Times NZ
30.06.2008
WRAPPING medical tape around the mouth of an elderly rest home resident to keep her quiet is clearly the work of a sick and cruel individual who should never have been employed as a caregiver in the first place.
However, with the low-wage, no-qualification, little-training nature of the job, those who take on the role for vocational reasons are rare gems, while many others _ particularly in our larger centres _ have fallen into rest home jobs because the work is readily available.
While there are wonderful carers who are efficient, kind and compassionate, it's a sad fact that many others lack the empathy, skills and patience to treat the vulnerable elderly charges with the respect and attention they deserve.
Caring for the elderly can be emotionally draining and physically demanding. Workers will have to deal with distressed, frustrated, even violent patients. They must nurse people through pain and confusion, in shifts that see them on deck at any time, day or night.
Despite this, it remains one of our lowest-paid forms of work.
If the profession was valued more highly, with a corresponding increase in wages and conditions, perhaps the right kind of workers would be easier to attract and retain. Earlier this month, a Families Commission report into care of the elderly _ released to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day _ found that institutions with good monitoring systems and policies, with well trained and well paid staff, were less likely to have neglect or abuse.
The particular Epsom care facility where this latest sordid incident happened will find itself the subject of a round of inspections and investigations.
Other rest homes should also take this episode as a reminder to take a good long look at themselves and their practices.
Entrusting our mothers, fathers or grandparents to a rest home is often a heartbreaking decision for a family, and the public must be able to have confidence in the treatment they will receive.
SOURCE: BayofPlentyTimesNZ
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