When you leave your loved one at a nursing home facility, you expect the staff to care for their residents with kindness and compassion. They have all the training and knowledge needed to give them all of this alongside their medical treatments, after all.
But there is one key factor that might singlehandedly be behind numerous cases of neglect in the nursing home, which you can find in the staffing department.
Understaffing in nursing homes
The Nursing Home Abuse Guide examines one of the most common problems linking cases of nursing home neglect together everywhere. In essence, the problem boils down to understaffing and overtaxing. According to one study, 90 percent of all nursing homes and related facilities suffer from a staffing shortage.
It is costly for a nursing home to keep as many registered nurses, licensed professionals, and medical assistants on hand to give every patient the care and attention they need. Thus, nursing homes end up with far fewer staff members than necessary, which leads to neglectful behaviors and actions.
Exhaustion among staff
Exhaustion is one potential issue affecting overtaxed staff. They could accidentally overlook crucial symptoms of an oncoming illness, ailment, or injury. They may fail to administer proper medication, or not even notice when a resident needs to go to the hospital. Long shifts can also lead to frustration and stress, which can potentially trigger snappish behavior.
With short staff, the staff also tends to prioritize people based on the weight of their needs. Someone in a more dire physical state than your loved one could receive medical attention from the few staff on hand, while your loved one’s daily needs go unmet. These are just a few of the problems that can lead to neglect.
