Health and social care service operation management

Health and Social Care Service Operation Management
Although the research on elderly abuse is limited, research indicates that it is as widespread as child abuse (Hawes). At Glan Clwyd Hospital, there is evidence of abuse of the elderly, but the management board hides it. In October 2014, a newspaper article reported abuse to elderly patients at Glan Clwyd Hospital. The hospital’s management is the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. As mentioned, they hid a report of the investigations from the public. However, even if they made it public, it would focus on causes, incidence and societal risk factors that led to the abuse. For this reason, the purpose of this document is to research the report and present an analysis of the problems. It also gives an opinion of the possible actions to take against the staff. In addition, it covers how the management board could prevent the abuse at the time of the occurrence or in the future. Lastly, it discusses possible solutions to address the quality issues raised and state why these would or not address the issue. Although the elderly at Betsi Cadwaladr Hospital experience abuse, the facility can intervene with rightful programs.
It is imperative to note that the elderly who live with relatives or in settings other than their apartments or homes receive relatively little attention from their caretakers. For instance, the elderly at Glan Clwyd Hospital experience neglect for health caregivers. Therefore, it is worth noting that they are more likely to suffer from complications and a plethora of chronic infections. Consequently, these diseases might lead to untold limitations in their cognitive and physical functioning. Eventually, they are likely to become dependent on others for survival. What is more, the limitation in cognition leads to the difficulty in voicing their opinion about their abuse or neglect at Glan Clwyd Hospital. In other cases, come feel that is they report the abuse, there is likelihood that their lives will be miserable because of the possibility of retaliation from the healthcare givers. As a matter of consequence, it is mandatory to confirm that the elderly are among the most vulnerable members of the American Society.
It is also paramount to understand that their complete dependence on the facility for basic necessities increases the probability of their abuse and, consequently, their level of vulnerability. For instance, they depend on the nursing facility for medicine, food, dental care, and medical care, a roof, bed, and assistance for almost every activity that they engage in on a daily basis. Therefore, it is very unlikely that they can express their dissatisfaction with any form of abuse or deplorable condition at the facility. As mentioned, they hold the fear that if they speak up, the facility might discontinue the services or abuse them even more. Sadly, the elderly, as members of the society that deserve respect from medical practitioners, become victims of circumstances and are unable to bail out of the undesirable conditions. It is easy to assert that the abuse at Glan Clwyd Hospital is the only incidence in the United States and is unworthy of reporting because it can damage Betsi CawaladrUniversity’s reputation and even result in a closure.
However, as mentioned, the state at Glan Clwyd Hospital is a clear indication of the more than 2.5 million elderly people who live in about sixty-two thousand hospitals and nursing homes in the United States (Hawes). Research indicates that more than fifty-five percent of the elderly that enter nursing homes can manage to stay at the facility for a year (Hawes). However, there is a dramatic increase in the probability of use of the infrastructure as age increases (Hawes). For instance, seventeen percent of all individuals who surpass the sixty-five year mark and continue to age seventy-four must use the facility (Hawes). Surprisingly, up to sixty percent of American residents above the age of eighty-five and continuing to ninety-four are in nursing facilities (Hawes). In addition, the relative risk of a lifetime for women in the United States is much higher than that of men because the former outlive the latter under standard settings (Hawes). According to Hawes, the percentage of women under such care is fifty-two against men’s thirty-three percent (Hawes).
As mentioned, individuals above the age of eighty-five are at more risk of attending such homes than the younger generation (Hawes). It is imperative to note that the elderly segment of the American population continues to grow rapidly, the volume of these individuals in the hospitals increases (Hawes). For this reason, there might be too much work for the nurses at Glan Clwyd Hospital to handle within a given timeframe. Therefore, there is increased risk for these individuals and it will increase with time. The conditions at Glan Clwyd Hospital are a clear indicator of the worrying trend of elderly patient abuse.
There were several reforms that the government passed concerning health care and treatment of the elderly patients. These changes controlled the way nursing homes regulates the patient’s quality of life and resident care. As a matter of consequence, both Medicare and Medicaid addressed the issues, and the federal government forbade nursing facilities from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse. In addition, hospitals had to put a limit to the inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs and physical restraints. In point of fact, the government instituted involuntary seclusion and corporal punishment.
In the United States, the elderly and non-white patients have a similar probability of risk as individuals with limitations in physical functioning and cognition. As mentioned, the elderly at the facility face more risk because of the elongated period of their stay under medical care. Therefore, they depend on the facility’s staff for protection, care, and safety. At Glan Clwyd Hospital, there are serious cases of confusion, memory loss, and dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. These neurological changes are indispensable at advanced ages and result in undesirable outcomes. However, patients with high levels of physical aggression suffer a greater risk of abuse than those who do not manifest such traits. Imperatively, nurses find that such patients are difficult to handle and seek alternative means. For instance, a patient who manifests aggression at Glan Clwyd Hospital sends the wrong signal to the medical practitioner in charge. Veritably, the healthcare giver can think that the aggression is the resident’s intentional attempt to resist medication. Similarly, one might think that the “difficult-to-handle” patient may hurt staff or damage the facility. Therefore, the belief culminates in rough handling at the expense of the aggressive patient.
Some patients report that the nurses at Glan Clwyd Hospital yell at them and tell them that they do not have all day to wait on them. If the patients in question answer, the nurses command them to shut up and hit them as an indication of the latter’s annoyance with the former. Therefore, it is clear that these nurses believe that the elderly are a burden to them. For instance, some elderly patients may lack the ability to move their limbs and other body parts. For this reason, nurses have to do all the dirty work for them. For instance, the former wash the latter’s clothes, take them to the toilet, feed them, and wash them. For this reason, it is common at Glan Clwyd Hospital to hear a nurse making remarks about a patient’s body parts. Sadly, these incidences occur in the presence of other patients. As mentioned, the witnesses learn to remain silent to avoid reiterations and undesirable outcomes such as evictions or forceful treatment by the health caregivers.
Family members of the victimised elderly patients report of abuse by Glan Clwyd Hospital’s staff. For instance, they report of abrasions, bruises, fractures, and unexplained falls. Others say that the nurses batter their relatives and break their bones. Sadly, after the occurrence of such incidents, these medical officials do not report to the physicians of the deteriorating conditions of the patients under their care. For instance, it is very unlikely that a nurse will say that she broke a patient’s leg because she pushed him for being too aggressive on her. Consequently, these patients suffer in silence and refrain from reporting their conditions to the relevant authorities.
As mentioned, there are an increasing number of elderly patients in hospitals in the United States and Glan Clwyd Hospital is no exception. However, the condition at the hospital is worse than the overall conditions in the nation. As the patients continue to flock in, the hospital does not increase its staff volume to cater for the needs of the increase. In point of fact, they work for long hours on a mandatory schedule and tire out. For this reason, it is imperative to note that there are work-life balance issues at the facility. For instance, healthcare givers pinch, hit, batter, kick, slap, or handle elderly patients under their care roughly. Although it is not an excuse for too much work and violates work ethics, it implies that the problems are organisation-wide. Lastly, psychological abuse is common at the facility. It includes privileges or denying food, inappropriate isolation, swearing, insulting, or yelling in anger at a patient, threats, throwing or hitting with an object.
The management should intervene in the situation at the hospital before it gets out of control. Firstly, the management must increase the number of employees to meet the needs of the increasing number of elderly patients. Secondly, it should provide staff with shifts to improve on work-life balance issues. It is mandatory to note that healthcare givers may not work to the best of their abilities if they have pending work-life balance issues. Therefore, the management must ensure that it replaces tired employees quickly to avoid abuse or neglect in the future. Thirdly, the management should determine the patients with a history of abuse at the facility and assure them that a repeat of the violence in the future is impossible. Such an intervention will increase their level of confidence and cause them to open up to discussions about violence in the future. As a conclusion, the facility should recognise that it plays a crucial role in medical intervention for elderly patients. Therefore, the management should adhere to the federal and state statutes and protocols that address elderly abuse. For this reason, it will reduce the overlooking and misdiagnosis of elderly abuse and foster provocative care and interventions for the medical practitioners at the risk of becoming abusers, patients on the brink of victimisation, and present victims.

Work Cited
Hawes, Catherine. “14 Elder Abuse in Residential Long-Term Care Settings: What Is Known
and What Information Is Needed? Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
in an Aging America.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.