Who's abusing whom?

[Jennymac]

It is incredulous that a partiamentary act intended to protect the elderly from abuse can also be used as a vindictive weapon against innocent nursing staff.
There can be no argument that mandatory reporting of elder abuse is vital in caring for the safety & well-being of our vulnerable elderly.However, the Act is wide open to interpretation as to what does constitute reportable abuse.
The very people who care & protect the aged can be at dire risk of being accused of perpetrating abuse upon them by ANYONE who wishes to make a complaint, be it genuine or vexacious.
3 nurses at my workplace have been the VICTIMS of trivial complaints made by disgruntled relatives. All three were considered guilty until proven innocent. I thought the justice system worked the other way around in this country but obviously not in these cases.
All three nurses have been emotionally traumatised, suffering ongoing anguish & loss of self esteem.All have been found innocent of the complaints but it really is too late.The FM says she'll lose her job if she doesn't report complaints.
There can be no internal investigation. Just report to DOHA,inform all the relevent authorities, including the police & the "guilty" nurse is sent to Coventry. The Act protecte the elderly & the whistleblower but not the innocent nurse.She is subjected to this awful process, then offered counselling for the crime she didn't commit.
Is there anyone out there who has had similar experiences at their workplace?

[wanda]

Yeah, I've seen it. And so have others. Except, until mandatory reporting began, it was always the residents (under the complaints system) who were treated this way.
You're right. Innocent until proven guilty. An open justice system (for justice to be done, it must be seen to be done). A level playing field (all admissable evidence examined and cross-examined). All of these things we take for granted because we are a “free” people. Yet they have been denied to the elderly for a decade, and now to staff in aged care, which is run more like a totalitarian state.

We had a resident who, for no apparent reason, fell foul of the management at our facility, who began to bully him mercilessly. His family did all the “right” things, contacted the Aged Rights Advocacy Service, agreed to all their dementia assessments, behaviour modification programs etc etc. Ten months later (and only because they had heard the media might get involved) the Complaints Resolution Committee came to sit at our facility. So everybody sits down at the hearing – and then the bomb drops. Ten months previously our resident had been accused of “sexually harrassing” a staff member (He hadn't done so. His accuser had, though.) In 10 months, no-one had told him this. No-one had told his family this. He rocks up at the complaints hearing, hoping his complaints of victimisation will be heard at last – and finds himself more or less on trial!

It is simply shameful that this can happen in Australia. But how do you fight it? People shudder when you mention the Inquisition. But the Inquisition had nothing on this.

If there is a positive to your story, Jennymac (and I know there isn't, really) then perhaps it is that staff will find the power to speak out loudly in a way that residents and their families have not been able to (ours were locked into a "confidentiality" agreement before the Complaints Resolution Committee would even hear their case!)

[jennyjoy]

As an example of how Mandatory reporting can be abused, I would like to tell you my story.
I have worked as a AIN and PC for over 30 years, and would never harm a resident.
I was reported by another carer for "rough handling" of a resident of our facility. This resident had very advanced dementia.
Some of the accusers statement said that this resident told me "leave me alone you are hurting me" several times, and "dont come back"
The only problem with this part of the accusation, is this resident struggles to put two words together let alone the sentences he was alleged to have spoken. The other carers who know this resident agree he could not have said this.
There were numerous other problems with the accusers account of what happened, most of which I passed on to the FM when I was suspended with pay.
I ended up having a meeting with the FM, and was told that although the allegations could not be proven, I will be given a warning and if anything like this happened again, I would be out the door.
I contacted the union, no help.
I contacted (many times!) the HR department of the organisation and after their investigations, I was advised that I will receive no warning, but the allegation will stay on my file.
Of course, my time here is now limited as the FM was not thrilled with me going over her head. The repercussions have already begun.
This carer has a reputation for reporting everyone, and working with this carer on previous occasions, the conversations often were about who was reported by this carer and how proud they were of it. This carers' reasons for targetting me are not clear, but I think there was a degree of jealousy, thats a long story!
The elderly have to be protected from abuse, but it is not fair that I can be treated this way. I now have this black mark on my file, when I did absolutely nothing wrong.
The person who made the allegations has in my opinion more to answer in the respect of her manner of care, but thats a discussion for another day.

[Jennymac]

A reply to Jennyjoy-
To shatter another person's self esteem & confidence is a form of assault & accusers who make false allegations should be made to formally apologise. I see in your case that nothing could be proven, so
therefore,you must be innocent.That's how the justice system works. It's not good enough to be given a warning. For what?
The nurse in question sounds like a malicious bully & she needs to be accountable for what she's done. My advice to you is to make sure you have a witness in her presence -if that's possible.
Your FM sounds like mine. No people skills, whatsoever.Just looks out for number 1 & is too busy doing whatever to care about her staff.
The sick leave at my workplace is utterly appalling & has been ever since the FM started here.
God help us all! I despair what the future holds, not only for aged care staff but also for the elderly at the mercy of a very sick system.
Who will trust us when we are seen as potential criminals? Nurses held in high regard by the public? Not in aged care,they're not.