Dignity is a human right
In a recent article in the Scottish Herald Equalities and Human Rights Commissioner Alan Miller makes the following comments about alnutrition in hospitals:
"We recently held 18 public meetings from Dumfries to Lerwick and Aberdeen and dignity for the elderly was the No1 concern for people across the whole of Scotland.
"As part of this we have decided to bring together all those involved in public procurement to see how to ensure the right to dignity and quality of care for older people is part of that process. The current emphasis is on value for money but as The Herald has revealed this week, that can drive down standards and continue abuses.
"We are getting everyone around the table to see what needs to be done but it may require an EU directive or change in guidance from the UK or Scottish Government.
"Suing over human rights has been associated with prisoners, but in the context of the care setting if you have an older person who cannot reach their food or has insufficient food provided, suffers a lack of hygiene and is given inappropriate medication, this can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment and no budget cuts can justify it.
"What The Herald has brought out may be the tip of the iceberg. This is something which seems to affect so many people and resonates with everyone."
The article is available to read here http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/if-we-don-t-take-care-of-our-elderly-then-we-are-not-a-civilised-society-1.926681
It would be interesting to hear people's views on this issue
From my role as a Ward Nutrition Assistant, I have observed staff on a ward deciding whether a patient will eat or not without actually offering them food. The patient needs to be physically offered a meal and then obviously has the right to refuse, but we need to know that we have tried everything in order to encourage elderly patients' to eat and drink. We need to find out their likes and dislikes and pass this information on to other carers. If a patient is not eating enough, dieticians and doctors need to become involved. It is illegal to force feed a patient but we need to be able to go home knowing that we have done our best.
lack of communication and team work lets the clients down.Unless we are prepared to work together and record important information we fail people. Giving supplement drinks in between meals is a start. Recording the clients weight weekly also makes us aware to the clients missed meals. Its this vital information that we as carers can work together and hopefully come up with a possitive plan to encourage the client to enjoy their meals. The passing on of information to all involved can make a great difference. Force feeding is abuse.