National Preventive Mechanism
agreement in order to offer an evening programme and to be able to delay
evening mealtimes which had previously been scheduled much too early.
Another control visit showed how negative the effect of changes to those
responsible for the home and nursing staff can be. In 2014, Commission 6
visited a privately run nursing home with 132 nursing care places, which overall
made a good impression. In 2016, due to complaints received the home was
spontaneously reincorporated into the planned visits programme. It became
clear in situ that a total of 63 nursing staff had been hired within the space
of a year, whilst 55 employees had left the home. In the dementia ward the
Commission noticed broken chairs and loose cabling. In the communal area,
after breakfast patients with dementia were left to their own devices for hours
until lunch, without any activity or verbal interaction. Nursing documentation
was comprised of a bundle of text modules. There was no dementia concept
or pain assessment; some residents displayed bruising of unclear origin. For
32 residents who had been subject to measures that restrict freedom, it was
not apparent whether milder measures had been attempted. Between 2014
and 2016 only induction training was carried out, but no specialist nursing
training. Staff objected to mismanagement, harsh treatment, an extremely
bad working climate and an unclear allocation of duties. The NPM urgently
called for supervisory measures, through to the revocation of the licence.
„Anyone who
complains gets
dismissed“
The nursing home operator was not only active in Lower Austria but also
operated two homes for the elderly in Vienna until the end of 2016. Here
Commission 4 most recently noted similarly inadequate staff leadership skills,
conspicuously high staff turnover and a large number of complaints regarding
shortcomings. In the view of Commission 4, neither of these two facilities
in Vienna met the quality standards that other Viennese nursing homes
have voluntarily undertaken to abide by on the basis of their membership
of the Association for Viennese Social Institutions (Dachverband der Wiener
Sozialeinrichtungen). In the meantime, the operator has changed, and the
NPM will continue to monitor the effects of this.
Inadequate staff
management skills
At a facility in Styria hosting 35 persons with psychiatric diagnoses the entire
management team (head of the home and of nursing staff) and 80% of staff
changed within a few months. Above all, in view of particular manifestations
of diseases, night shifts in the three-storey building were very onerous, with
only two nursing staff members present. This led to numerous complications.
Eighty falls were documented between the start of the year and the middle of
October 2016, mainly during the night, resulting in some cases in severe injury
and extended stays in hospital. In the disease progression reports written by
Graz Regional Hospital, which were viewed by Commission 3, the home was
urgently advised to take measures to prevent falls. However, according to staff
from the facility, the purchase of additional auxiliary equipment was rejected
on cost grounds. In the meantime, the supervisory authority contacted by
the NPM arranged for electronic monitoring systems to be purchased (sensor
Management and 80%
of staff resign
105
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