• Police recorded 1,200 assaults between care homes residents between 2014 and 2016.
• More than one assault a day was reported in England and Wales, an investigation revealed.
• Care workers said they were not always given full information about who might pose a risk
It has been reported that police have recorded 1,200 assaults between residents living at care homes during 2014 and 2016.
The Care Quality Commission have said that it was the responsibility of care providers to protect residents from harm or abuse. However, is this the right stance to have?
File on 4’s report showed that assaults among residents are not uncommon. Some care workers said they were not always given full information about who might pose a risk.
Julie Hammonh, general manager at Mapleford Nursing Home in Accrington, said “after two weeks, we'd already served [a resident] notice knowing that we wouldn't be able to meet his needs. He was too unpredictable and he could be a danger to other residents. We wanted him moving."
The home said it was only after the assault that they found out the man had previously shown challenging behaviour. "He’d been in two or three care homes and there'd been similar incidents, serious incidents in which there was aggression and serious injury to other service users… We weren't aware of that information. If we'd have known that we wouldn't have accepted that gentleman into this home.”
The fact that the care providers are taking these incidents to the police Is the right thing to do according to Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England who said it “shows care homes are not keeping this information to themselves. As we see more people with different types of dementias and exhibiting more challenging behaviours, we have to have a system that's ready to respond to that."
Although, it is worth noting that the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have said there was a need for more providers who can care for those with challenging behaviour.
Is there insufficient training for carers to prepare them for challenging behaviours?