Elderly Abuse And Neglect

At Adult Protective Services majority of our work involves investigation of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. At Adult Protective Services our job is to protect the vulnerable elderly population, as well as the population that have disabilities. “Only APS is statutorily authorized and responsible for investigating elder and vulnerable adult abuse and taking steps to protect the victims, and it is generally only APS that helps the most frail and incapacitated older persons”(Quin, 2012, p.68). When abuse is suspected, a case worker will reach out to all parties involved, such as the alleged victim, alleged perpetrator, and all collaterals. Unlike many other professions, case worker are not required to have any written consent to speak with

It is important when working in a health and social care environment that service providers are able to recognise or identify people who are at risk of suffering from abuse or neglect. Some abusers are aware the care worker’s role. This role is to make sure that they are able to report concerns and will make user that they don’t abuse or neglect a service user in front of others. In addition to this, it is important that a service provider is able to spot of there has been any changes in behaviour in a certain service user who they are giving help to. However, for a service provider to be able to spot changes in a service users personality they will need to get to know and understand them, they

All individuals have the entitlement to living their lives exempt from aggression or any type of abuse. Circumstances of abuse at senior individuals frequently appear publicly although several occurrences of abuse could likewise go unannounced. Safeguarding older people is ever more recognized as a serious matter for society, with ongoing exposure of abusive and unjust systems and practices that defy social care practices and those who labor with adult deemed as at risk (previously referred to as vulnerable) (Scragg & Mantell, 2011). The above change resulted, as the terminology 'vulnerable adult ' was perceived as negatively meaning that the abused adult is partially responsible of the abuse occurring to him/her (Mandelstam, 2011).

The relationship between poverty and child neglect has been studied vastly. It is a relevant topic to child welfare because the implications of poverty and the implications of child neglect are both far reaching. The effects of poverty and neglect on child welfare are immense on their own, but together they can create a storm of problems within developing children. A large proportion of neglect cases are found in impoverished neighborhoods, which makes poverty and important factor to look at when trying to prevent child neglect. It is important to note that poverty is not the cause of neglect, as there are many factors which affect the family system leading the neglect of a child, but it does play an important part in how we look at cases.

These assessments can be time consuming and difficult to administer. Any screening tool or assessment for elder abuse and neglect needs to be completed in private without the caregiver’s involvement. The Elder Abuse Suspicion Index tool is a six item questionnaire that can be administered by any health professional in an office setting and usually takes about two-three minutes to complete. The Indicator of Abuse Screening Tool is a twenty-nine item assessment that requires a two to three home visit by a healthcare professional. The Elder Assessment Instrument is a fifty-one item Likert-scale checklist that can be completed in an office setting by any healthcare provider. One of the most widely used tools is the Brief Abuse Screen which consists of five questions and takes less than one minute to administer. (Wang, Brisbin, Loo & Straus,

Many people are supported in their homes by people who work along side the health and social care service such as social workers,nursers ,doctor and care givers or they may get support from their family members and friends. An elderly person may choose to stay in their own homes instead of a residential care home while seeking help and support from others,however this can lead to potential opportunities for abuse happening to the person who Is being looked after. When an individual is getting support at home by a carer, the individual being cared for is vulnerable and defenseless and therefor this makes them a target for abuse,another example is abuse by strangers,when an elderly person lives alone they are at risk of people calling at the door and then gaining access to their homes,they may steal items from them or mistreat them or cause intimidation.

abuse: When the service user lives with the carer, it may increase the chances for abuse to occur as this situation may cause stress and resentment if the carer feels he/she cannot cope. Not properly trained staff who do not receive any supervision or support at work, as well as stressed staff who are going through personal problems, or who do not like working in the care sector, may increase the risk of an individual being abused. In addition, patients who are not mobile, are confused, suffer from dementia or are aggressive or challenging, may also present an increase for the risk of an individual being abused, since the carer

3.1 “Use a case study from a health or social care setting to identify the extent to which individuals are at risk of harm”.

Having knowledge of social policies is essential to address elder abuse because it is crucial to have valued information to provide to the service user or how to report any type of abuse or neglect with seniors. In Canada, elder abuse legislation is a responsibility of federal, provincial and municipal (Podnieks, 2008). Likewise, the federal Criminal Code (1985) defines the standards for criminal justice through the country. Hence, this code has strengths and limitation regarding elder abuse.

In this case study Mr. Brown, who is a resident at County Acres Nursing Home is not receiving adequate social work care that address his variety of needs. Mr. Brown, is a young man that is homeless and doesn’t have financial social, peer support and requires a social work intervention. The major characters in this case study are Cecilia O’Neil, social work intern, Mr. Brown, the patient. One of the main problems in the case, is the lack of social work principles that allow Mr. Brown to be treated with dignity, respect and self-worth and with self-determination. According to the National Association of Social Workers “ethical principles are based on social work's core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance

Elder neglect is defined as a caregiver withholding an elder of their needs. These needs include shelter, food, water, safety, and etc. Mr. B failed to provide his father with basic safety when he could no longer make those decisions for himself. Dr. Y did make the right choice concerning the fact that it is her duty to report Mr. B’s elder neglect with his father. In reporting Mr. B’s neglect, Dr. Y would have to compile her evidence against Mr. B and take action quickly.

Assisted living facilities are one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Unfortunately, assisted living facilities have a history of being problematic. Specific cases from the movie Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities indicates that assisted living facilities are often under staffed, poorly trained, and often admit elderly patients who are not qualified candidates for their facilities (Byker and Thompson, 2013). When taking this in to account, it is important to consider why families may admit their loved ones in to assisted living facilities. Hillier and Barrow (2015), associate problems of caregiving with the responsibility itself, the caregivers personal health, role strains, strained family relationships, ect. With all of this strain on an informal caregiver it seems most beneficial to the caregiver and the elderly individual to consider admittance in to an assisted living facility. Once a basis has been established as to why an elderly person is admitted in to an assisted living facility, further insight shall be established to denote what is considered elder abuse. In this movie, Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities, several

In a nursing home environment, there are broadly speaking two types of abuse. The first form of abuse involves the general condition and upkeep of the facilities. These include the condition of the building and the property on the whole. The building and the property should be safe, should have taken adequate steps to prevent slips and falls, should be properly equipped and clean. The nursing home should provide the residents with nutritious meals, recreational activities, social services, proper medications and medical care. The staff should be well-trained and adequate for the

This can be evidenced in a BBC Documentary (2014), which investigated abuse being carried out at number of care homes. Residents were left soaked in urine or faecal matter for hours at a time, others suffered dehumanisation and emotional pain by being refused to go to the toilet and left for two hours. There were also signs of physical assault, verbal abuse and psychological abuse in all three homes investigated by the BBC. Dunning (2010) credits that having an advocate in place at a care home setting could prevent any future abuse or neglect happening in the first instance. Lancaster Advocacy (2006) cited in Community Care (2006), believe that “Older people can be particularly vulnerable”. Many, older people will go straight into a care environment straight after hospital. Some may have been treated poorly in hospital but “find it difficult to challenge doctors, nurses or social workers”. The ageing process can suppress people; consequently, they not strong enough to face the stress of taking on complaints systems alone (Lancaster Advocacy, 2006 cited in Community Care, 2006). Therefore, advocacy can ensure that if the person wishes to make a complaint, they will be well informed of the options open to them and will be able to access external independent support in order to pursue said complaint (Advocacy QPM,

Elder abuse can be referred to as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. Elderly people often get abuse by people who should be their protector and carer, in most circumstances many elderly adults are abused in their own homes, in relatives’ homes, and even in facilities responsible for their care. If you suspect that an elderly person is at risk from a neglectful or overwhelmed caregiver, or being preyed upon financially, it’s important to speak up. Learning about the warning signs of elder abuse, what the risk factors are, and how you can prevent and report the problem it’s very vital in protecting the elderly from abuse, some of these abuse are;