If you have a family member or other loved one that currently resides in a nursing home, you may find yourself concerned about the quality of the care that they are receiving on a day-to-day basis. While thinking about and considering their care quality is one thing, suspecting neglect or abuse is a much more serious and scary issue to deal with. If you are suspicious that your loved one is being neglected, there are several steps you can take. Get to know some of these steps so you can start doing what you can to protect your loved one right away.
Request Your Loved One's Care Records
Nursing homes and elderly care facilities should keep detailed records of the care they provide to residents in the home. This, of course, includes any issues or problems that have occurred like falls or other injuries but can also include daily care information such as whether or not the resident ate their meals or slept well.
If you are thinking your loved one is being neglected, having a copy of their records to look at is a good place to start. You will be able to go through the information they provide you and determine if it matches up with what you have observed of your loved one. For example, if they had an injury that you saw on a certain date, but it is not documented, your suspicions of neglect may be founded as all injuries, even those self-inflicted should be noted in the records.
Another red flag would be if your loved one's records are sparse or seemingly incomplete. This can be a sign that your loved one is not receiving the care that they need from the nursing home facility and staff.
Consider Setting Up a Camera in Their Room
When your loved one is in a nursing home facility, you and your loved one have a right to install a camera in their room. The same cameras that can be used for home security can be placed in your loved one's nursing home room to keep an eye on how they are treated. If you want to be sneakier about it to ensure that you get a true picture of what is going on, you can opt for the "nanny cam" cameras that are hidden in stuffed animals or other trinkets.
Recording the care that your loved one receives can help you to determine if abuse and neglect are occurring and how serious the issue is. Be sure that you keep copies of any recordings documenting such instances so that you can present them along with any other evidence you have of abuse or neglect to your nursing home neglect lawyer.
Now that you know a few of the steps to take when you suspect nursing home neglect, you can be sure you get started right away.
