Rochdale Adult Care Crisis?

RECENTLY a senior figure at Rochdale MBC told me that though there may be problems with the grooming of teenage girls in Rochdale, in the area of Rochdale Adult Social Care the situation was much better than it had been.  Last month we heard a coroner's report about an elderly woman who may have been starve to death while in care in Rochdale, and now today's Rochdale Observer carries a front page story entitled 'SHAME OF CARE HOME STAFF WHO ABUSED PATIENT'.

The Rochdale Ob. (23rd, Oct. 2013) states:
'CARE home staff abused a frail pensioner by giving here repeated overdoses of sedatives, an inquiry has ruled.'

This happened at Carders Court care home in Castleton when 85-year-old Barbara Oldham was given regular doses of the drug Promazine, which is used to treat severely agitated behaviour.  The hearing found that the excessive medication amounted to 'physical abuse'.  Barbara Oldham's son said that 'It reduced me to tears... (when) she was sat in the chair and could not lift her hear', he added that when he challenged the staff they said 'she was sleepy, (but) I know the difference between being sleepy and drugged - and my mum had been drugged.' 

Mr. Oldham is now seeking legal advice with a view to taking action against Bupa, which runs Carders Court.  Vivienne Birch, director of partnerships for Bupa Care Services said:
'We are sorry that Mrs Oldham's care did not meet our usual high standard.  The health and well-being of our residents is our absolute priority.  As a result, the care home has taken action to prevent this happening again...  Staff have also been given extra training to ensure that they fully document the reasons why a PRN medication has been administered.'

Let's hope so!