Horrors of care workers who leave elderly sitting in their own faeces.

Two former care workers have spoken exclusively to the Havering Daily about the horrifying way elderly patients are treated in their own homes.

The two care workers approached the Havering Daily heartbroken by the way certain care workers in the borough deal with elderly residents.

Havering has a high percentage of over 65 year olds that often need everyday care, many of whom have dementia.

The two female care workers, who both live in the borough did not wish to be named.

‘If you genuinely enjoy looking after people then this is the right job for you, but most of these care workers do it just as a job and a quick way to make money, that’s not right.

‘I have seen and heard such shocking stories, it broke my heart. I remember on one occasion I had been to see an elderly gentleman in Romford. He had dementia and needed regular medication.

‘The previous carer that had visited him in the morning had not given him any of his medication. He had soiled himself and the carer had just put a towel over the faeces that was on the chair and left him sitting on it.

‘Some people just don’t care. They do the job for the money and with no caring towards the patients they are visiting. It can’t be like that.’

‘You have to be gentle and talk to the elderly, spend time with them, make them tea, care for them. You can’t just force things on them and then walk out on them.

The second carer told the Havering Daily, ‘Often I have visited elderly patients who had not been fed, carers asked them if they wanted food and then just left them. By the time I got to them these poor residents were so hungry.

‘I remember on one occasion I had visited an elderly man in the afternoon and asked how he was and if he had been visited in the morning. He replied yes the lady had been but she was tired so slept on his bed for a while whilst he watched television. I couldn’t believe it! And he had not been given his medication.

‘Many carers spend their time talking on the phone, I have actually witnessed some carers attempt to clean their patients whilst having a chat on their mobiles. This is all wrong.’

The former carers blame the lack of proper training as part of the problem.

‘You get trained on the job, you have two days where you shadow other carers and that’s it. No formal training or anything like that.

‘Most of the elderly we visit need care and attention, many times they used to say to me, ‘lets have a cup of tea and a chat together’, as they miss human interaction and people to talk to.

‘On many occasions I have visited patients that had not been fed or watered, patients with dementia that had not been given medication and on one occasion I remember an elderly gentleman being allowed to go out to the shops. He had dementia and there was no way he should be allowed to go out on his own, yet he was sent out.

‘He went missing most of the afternoon and when I got to his home I panicked as he still had not returned. Luckily one of his neighbours had found him and walked him back, but he should never have been allowed out on his own.’

These shocking stories have been revealed exclusively to the Havering Daily, if you have experienced similar issues, please contact us with your stories.