Dementia care: a challenge too far for Sir Gerry?
By Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
So what did we learn from the BBC’s two-part series Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? (BBC 2, December 8 and 15, 2009). And what steps can – or will – be taken to ensure that better care will be provided in the future for people with dementia?
Sir Gerry has a great track record for saving and injecting new life into ailing businesses and helping to change dated practices and attitudes in the NHS. He does not accept that over-zealous bureaucrats and their red tape are a reason for halting or delaying progress.
The highly successful entrepreneur has the rare ability to get to the heart of often complex issues quickly and effectively. He inspires people to embrace change. He doesn’t suffer fools – or bad management. He is one of life’s genuine ‘doers’.
Sir Gerry, whose father had dementia when he died, set out to turn around care homes struggling to provide care for residents with dementia. The challenge was immense. Many would have been shocked by what they saw and heard.
· Emergency pull cords in bedrooms in one home were tied up to stop residents reaching them
· Elderly people in distress were left shouting for help for indeterminate periods
· Many were trapped inside– unable to spend time in the gardens
· Poorly paid care staff were offered little or no help to provide a better service
It was a dreadful indictment of the state of care for many people with dementia in the UK today. Sadly – as the programme pointed out – the care offered was not dissimilar to lots of other care homes operating in our cities, towns and villages.
The most shocking images confirmed the complete lack of dignity for many of the residents. Many were left in armchairs in lounges bereft of character with nothing to do and no-one to talk to. It was a depressing insight into the future for so many of us.
It seemed as if these people had been stripped of their humanity and their ability to communicate and contribute to society. They had become ‘non-people’ in a cold, colourless environment in which we would be horrified to place our loved ones.
One of the care homes featured in the programme had been given an ‘adequate’ rating by the official inspectors after previously being rated as ‘poor’. The new manager, we were told, was instrumental in bringing about this improvement.
But anyone who knows about inspections will understand that a few subtle changes could have led to the change in designation. It was certainly not something to celebrate or ‘flag up’. How could anyone be happy with an ‘adequate’ for goodness sake?
Care home owners – and the regulators – have to take their share of the blame for the unacceptable care homes we have in the UK. Let’s hope they were watching the BBC series. Let’s hope they were ashamed at what they witnessed.
The obsession with bureaucracy in the care sector has allowed the worst of our care homes to continue to operate. Regulators are frequently more interested in care homes filling in the correct paperwork than in the right kind of care being provided.
If the inspectors took more time assessing the kind of care provided – ensuring residents are treated like decent human beings and given every chance to lead meaningful lives – perhaps we would not have the kind of homes featured in the television series.
There have been cases where care homes providing an excellent personal service for their residents – treating them with dignity and respect – have been rated as ‘adequate’ because their paperwork is not always up to date.
How can it be right for a home providing good or excellent care, but marked down for red tape failings, to be given the same rating as a home where the paperwork is up to date but the care for the residents is woefully inadequate?
As long as this continues to be the case, some owners – who have moved into care primarily for profit reasons – will continue to operate the kind of care homes we saw on Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?
More than 30 years ago, I visited an old friend of mine who was a resident in a care home in Cornwall. Along with 20 others, she was sitting in a chair placed around a drab lounge. The TV was on. But no-one was watching it.
In the two hours I spent there, I didn’t see one member of the care staff speak to or spend time with the residents. Some of the residents – including my old friend – were sitting on black bin bags, just in case they couldn’t get to the toilet.
The pungent smell in the lounge was a strong indication that many people were allowed to sit in urine or faeces. There was no dignity. Some of the residents were aggressive, noisy and irritable. Who could blame them?
I would never have believed that some of those shocking images of the 1970s – specifically the lack of personal care and dignity for residents – would come back to haunt us in 2009.
It makes me seriously doubt that some care homes will ever escape the dark ages. Even with the intervention of a great man such as Sir Gerry Robinson.
Paul Roberts
January 27th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
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March 5th, 2010 at 6:37 am
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