Are care homes too big and staffing levels to low to give the best care for all residents??

It's a question ive been asking alot lately. In the home which I work alot of staff turn round and say if only we had the time, staff ect.

in several homes ive worked in, the case seems to be that alot of care staff feel rushed in their role and task takes over care therefore staff feel rushed to have all residents down in the dining room for breakfast, meals are seen as a task rather than enjoyed ,staff feel pressured by the number of call bells ringing, beds to make, care plans, medication ect. Staff wish they could have time to take residents out shopping, out for a cream tea or even to the cinema and a response does tend to be we dont have the staff. I know in the past staff have felt uneasy when spending 30mins in the morning helping someone dress because staff give them a hard time abd the fact of there are still another x amount of residents to get washed and dressed.

Therefore with the emphasis on non controlling and person centred care are the issues relating to sizes of homes, resident dependancy and staffing levels still proventing us from being totally person centred and stopping us from goving all choices that there should be in our care homes??

new to this site totally agree with all the issues you raised.staffing levels are far to low for me to practise person centred care.what do other care workers think?

Agreed, but all too often the care home managers are blamed for being greedy, when actually such factors as: historically low fees, combined with fee freezes/cuts plus ever-increasing bureaucracy and regulation, are the REAL reasons for low staff/service user ratios.

well, staff should be given a lot of consideration..in fact, it's a selfless job, we're caring for people we dont personally know

Sometimes as an assessor i feel a hypocrite as i know "what the real world is like". i am teaching them good practice which they are unable to deliver. cant beat the system thats what i say!!!

Sometimes it just takes the care staff to think a little more about the service user they are looking after, just a few more minutes spent with them, can make a difference, asking how they feel, how they want their care to be delivered. Sometimes staff are in a rush when they dont need to be. Just a little more thought sometimes.

i work in a residential home and we have 5 people on in the evening and i tend to spend 15 mins with one resident at a time mind u i have bout 10 residents to put to bed i think we should be able to take our time and talk to the residents

I agree that there are alot of issues in care homes with certain staff about having a go at others for spending to long with a resident but at the end of the day why shouldnt we spend half a hour with a resident washing them talking getting them dressed for alot of our residents when recieving personal care it is sometime thier only major interaction with someone for that day so i think it is important not to rush care any time of the day. Also with that comes alot of staff attitude in the "tasks" have to be done i agree there are general jobs to be done and they have to be done but tbh beds being made are always the last thing on my mind if they arnt made in the morning so what i pass this over to the recieving senior or i go out on the floor at lunch time and make them its no big deal or better yet getting staff to realise a resident may want to help we need more a doing with and not doing for attitude in this industry. Care plans should be updated with residents and not a key worker just sat int he office signing it to say yes thats still what happens. The same goes for the evning i have no issues with some carers spending sometime in the lounge with residents doing relaxation therapy a game of cards or scrabble we need to keep care homes as close to normal life as possible otherwise all the institutional behaviour we are trying to get rid off is finding its way back in. The idea of having everyone in bed before nightstaff arrive is a idea i challenge and belive this is por practise that to me is more what is better for the home and the staff not focusing on our residents needs.

I agree staff levels in alot of care homes are low but we need to re-event our home structures to mak ethem more person centered with the staff and the recourses we have and getting staff to change attitudes.

Its absolutely right that the level of staffing is going down, because some of the people just because of some connections and unemployment entering into the staffing business. they select people without prior experience for some crucial jobs, and some of the people from these sort of staffing agencies are likely to be have unauthorized, as they don't have any sort of certification and diploma from registered authorized institute.

Carla Bruce

Household staff agency London

I agree with you for the lowering of the staffing levels as the increasing number of care takers in the care homes. With the increasing facilities provided by the care homes, more and more people are moving to them, but the care homes services provider are taking time to arrange the number of staff to take care.

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It can be stopped if people stop care homes' monopoly. I have experienced that some care homes have made this as a business only. They do not care whether the patient is being given good care or not. But still there are some home cares and nursing homes where "serve the people first" is considered.

I absolutely agree! We have the same problems in Germany!


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Have a new bed, never thought, that solid wood beds would be so great for my health!

I completely agree! I work in a nursing home , we have 27 patients ( a full house) and we have 4 staff on in the morning 2 to do transfers and 2 to do breakfast and then help get people washed and dressed, in the evening we have just 2 members of staff (sometimes 3), on weekends we have 3 in the morning and 2 in the evening, its absolutely ridiculous sometimes.

stacey87 absoulety awful love, my workplace is the same no one lasts in care !!!

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