One of the most difficult decisions in life is to place a loved one in the care of someone else, either temporarily or indefinitely. Certain events render such a decision essentially inevitable.
Whether your loved one is an injury victim or disabled person, or a parent, grandparent or other relative who needs care due to old age and associated health complications, you may be faced with a major dilemma.
Who will care for your family member? And how do you know whom to entrust with this very delicate duty? Selecting the wrong caregiver could cause your loved one to be harmed, and this is obviously something you’ll want to prevent – or stop, if it is already taking place.
There are three forms of harm that can be caused to a loved one on behalf of the wrong caregiver: neglect, abuse and exploitation. Each results in a different set of negative consequences that can occur as a result.
Neglect refers to any services and care that are needed but are not provided. The unfortunate consequences of neglect include a decrease in well-being, lack of nutrition, lack of bathing and continence care, failure to provide mobility assistance, health hazards due to lack of household maintenance, and in some cases fatality.
Abuse is possibly the worst type of harm that can be inflected by an ill-selected caregiver in the course of in-home care. Newport Beach families have reported abuses including various types of verbal or physical activity that is not acceptable either legally, medically, or even according to your own standards of care.
Types of physical abuse include hitting, forcefulness, and improper administration of medical procedures. Verbal abuse includes yelling, scolding, unnecessary negative or degrading comments, sexual harassment, and harsh or vulgar remarks. Bruises, rashes, pain, muscle strain, restlessness, fear, depression, anxiety and even added physical ailments are among unnecessary side effects that can be caused by caregiver abuse.
Exploitation of your loved one on the part of the caregiver generally refers to any actions which are intended for the purpose of unethically taking advantage of the patient. These include theft or non-consensual “borrowing” of money or other resources (like food, shelter, medications, medical supplies, and personal belongings). It can also refer to issues such as the caregiver being accompanied by uninvited guests, misuse or unpermitted use of your loved one’s vehicle or home, and unwelcomed or unannounced visits.
Exploitation of your loved one can cause them to feel helpless and untrusting, can cause anxiety and depression. It may even result in malnutrition or other unmet needs and neglect as a byproduct.
There are a few ways to ensure harm is not being caused to your loved one by a caregiver. The first and most obvious is prevention. Being selective by interviewing the caregiver and any references they have is step one.
Monitoring the care that is being administered is another way to ensure quality. This includes surprise visits to your loved one, private conversations to ask how the care is going, and regular phone calls (private, not in the presence of the caregiver) to check on things. You may also wish to keep in regular contact with the caregiver to inform him or her of your desires for care.
If you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated in any way by a caregiver, ask your loved one. If there is evidence or testimony that harm has been imposed, your next step is to determine if the behavior is mild or severe.
If it is truly mild, you can contact the caregiver gently and ask that improvements be made. Be sure to give a short term timeline in which you will expect the changes, and softly remind them that you will may be forced to report them if it does not improve.
If the harm is severe, you should not tell the caregiver that you have an issue. Contact the agency that employs the caregiver and ask that their care be immediately terminated. If the agency is a state or federal government office (such as a health and human services department), they will have corrective measures you can trust already in place, and can usually replace the caregiver with a more suitable one. If the agency is independent, you may wish to try another agency to provide the home care. Redondo Beach has a number of facilities to accommodate such requests.
If you believe the damage done is permanent or will have long term effects, you may also seek legal recourse by contacting a qualified attorney or law office. You should also contact the police or 9-11 in the event the behavior constitutes an emergency. If there is evidence of abuse, be sure to report it to authorities and hospital personnel or a doctor immediately.