Elderly individuals should be able to count on their caregivers to do what’s best for them. It isn’t always easy to care for these individuals; however, there isn’t any excuse for being negligent with the care provided or to abuse these senior citizens. When improper care is provided, the elderly person can suffer harm.
Sometimes, a situation has to do more with abuse than negligence. These cases occur when there is intentional harm being inflicted on the individual. This doesn’t always mean physical abuse. Nursing home residents and other elderly people can also suffer from financial, emotional and sexual abuse. In all of these cases, the damage can be serious.
Many senior citizens won’t speak up when they’re abused. Instead, they feel as though it is something they have to hide. For this reason, the loved ones of people who are in nursing facilities need to pay close attention to the behavior of the person and watch for signs that something is amiss.
It is often easy to spot physical abuse because there will be bruises or other marks. Emotional abuse might only be noticed if the victim is behaving in an unusual manner. Financial abuse can be spotted on bank statement, but only if the person isn’t giving out cash or other assets.
The key to spotting elder abuse is to watch for unusual changes in the nursing home resident. Unfortunately, some of the signs that you’d watch for, such as withdrawing from relationships are also symptoms of some dementia-related conditions. For this reason, it is often a good idea to err on the side of caution and take steps to find out what’s going on when you think a loved one is being mistreated in a nursing facility. This gives you the opportunity to stop the atrocious behavior.
