Care homes has always been a sensitive subject, especially for the Asian community in Britain. There are people who do not believe in sending their loved ones in a care home and would rather look after them; whereas there are many who do not see any harm in doing so.
As much as someone may want to take care of their ailing relative, it may not be feasible for them to provide that 24 hour care which is needed. They, therefore, have no other option but to let go of their relative and send them to a care home, with the hope that they would be taken care of in the best possible way.
There have been many negative reviews regarding care homes in the past; from the health, safety and hygiene of the accommodation to the treatment given by the staff members, as well as illegal immigrants being employed at certain care homes, there have been many instances which would make anyone think twice before sending their ailing relative into such a place.
A recent horrifying incident was of a 25-year-old night-time carer at a Devon care home. She has been jailed for 10 years after filming herself sexually abusing patients and sending the videos to her boyfriend.
Christina Sethi, from Torquay, assaulted three vulnerable patients at the care home, one male and two females. Two of the patients were 80 years old while one of the females was 101 years old. One of the female victims suffered from dementia.
Police described Sethi as “depraved and manipulative”. She admitted to five offences of sexual assault, which took place between January 2014 and May 2015.
The court heard how Sethi had assaulted the 101-year-old patient in a shocking video, which last seven-and-a-half minutes. She had sent these videos to her 32-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit sexual assault, but was released without charge.
While sentencing Sethi, Recorder Richard Stead said that she had “degraded and humiliated the victims”, while putting the reputation of the care home on line.
“The abuse of trust was woeful and exposed everyone's worse fears about placing their loved ones in care. You have brought carers into disrepute and have harmed three people who trusted you. The anguish and distress goes far beyond the victims. To a very great degree what it is felt by families- the spouses, children and grandchildren- exceeds the feelings of the victims. The distress and guilt remain with the families for as long as they live.”
Another tragic incident took place recently in which the patient ended up losing her life. 96-year-old May Lewis, died after she fell 20ft down an empty lift shaft as the owners of a care home had failed to act accordingly after being told that the lift was unsafe to use.
May Lewis had died in her wheelchair when her carer, Carol Conway, reversed into the empty shaft. She had not realised that the lift had failed to arrive,
The carer survived, however, suffered broken ribs, four fractures in her back and a broken ankle.
The owners of the Pontcanna care home, in Cardiff, Shirwan Al-Mufti (69), and his wife, Nasik (61), were convicted of health and safety breaches and have been ordered to pay £100,000.
Cardiff crown court was told that the care home owners had not inform the staff or residents about the problems with the lift in 2012. They had instead shown them how to use the emergency override key.
Mr and Mrs Mufti admitted failing to ensure health and safety requirements for employees and non-employees. They were fined £75,000 and were ordered to pay £25,000 costs.
The care watchdog has also stated that nearly half of hospitals are putting dying patients of harm or unnecessary suffering. The Care Quality Commission revealed that 50 of the 105 hospitals it has inspected since November 2013 were criticised for the safety of the patients. They further warned that conditions such as heart disease and dementia were receiving a poorer standard of treatment.
There are a significant number of care homes owned by Asians in Britain. It would be outrageous and wrong to say that all the Asian care homes are negligent when it comes to looking after their patients because of these two horrific examples. There have been many instances in the past where non-Asian care homes were in the spotlight for their cruel treatment on their patients too. On one hand, there are care homes where the patient's safety is questionable, on the other hand you have well-reputed care homes with dedicated staff who ensure patients receive the best treatment possible. However, the genuine care homes, where the ultimate motive is the wellbeing of their patients, are at risk due to the controversies emerging. Many people may now be more skeptical in sending their loved ones to care homes due to all the negative news surrounding them.
There will always be genuine care homes and their staff members who will continue to strive and make sure that the patients are taken care of, regardless of all the negative connotations associated with them, due to some shady organisations and inadequate staff.
