Enrolling your loved one to the nearest nursing home may seem like the best decision. However, this is not always the case.
Image by Daniel Nebreda from Pixabay
Recent reports show that many people have silently been suffering in nursing facilities. One of the primary reasons your loved one could suffer in a nursing facility is emotional abuse. Recent reports indicated that psychological abuse exists in a nursing facility when the seniors experience conditions such as:
- Distress
- Fear
- Mental pain
- Mental anguish
Emotional abuse can prevail in a nursing home for many months and even years without anyone discovering it. Most of the residents fear retaliation, and they would rather suffer in silence instead of reporting their experiences. Besides, most victims have cognitive impairments and may, therefore, fail to report the abuse correctly.
As per roothlawfirm.com, if you or your loved one has been a part of a similar incident, you need to consult a lawyer immediately.
What Constitutes Emotional Abuse in Nursing Homes?
In nursing facilities, there are two types of abuse that residents experience: physical and psychological abuse. Distinguishing the two situations is necessary, especially if you want to report it to the proper authorities. These are some common types of emotional abuse.
Threatening Behavior
Any form of threatening behavior is likely to inflict severe emotional behavior on a resident. Nursing home residents are older people who may have various physical health challenges and have experienced problems in their lives. Any threat is likely to remind them of their suffering and awaken their emotional pain and suffering.
The grievance becomes even worse if it has anything to do with sexual abuse because most of the residents cannot protect themselves against such threats.
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Isolating From Friends and Families
Most of the people living in nursing homes want to feel loved by their friends and family members. That is why regular visits are highly encouraged in these facilities to keep these people happy and emotionally stable.
However, there have been reports that some residents have been barred from seeing their friends and family members. Any form of isolation can lead to serious emotional torture to the residents and quickly aggravate their health conditions.
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Scapegoating and Blaming
A nursing facility has many residents and employees are responsible for taking care of the residents. Many problems may arise, such as accumulation of dirt, broken items, or misplaced utensils.
If one of the residents is consistently blamed for everything that goes wrong within the facility, there is a high chance that they will experience emotional anguish. To avoid this culture of blame, all nursing home staff have to support each other to cultivate a positive work environment where they feel safe to admit their mistakes.
Embarrassing the Patient
As noted earlier, nursing home residents are often people with significant physical and mental challenges. They may need assistance for basic activities such as dressing and eating.
If a staff member makes fun of a patient’s ailment, there is a high chance that patient will suffer emotional distress. They will feel embarrassed in front of other patients, which is something they cannot control.
Ignoring Patient Concerns
Nursing home patients will frequently request assistance on various issues. It is the staff’s responsibility to make sure that they attend to the needs of all patients in the facility to the best of their ability. However, any act that may be assumed to ignore a patient’s concerns several times will result in psychological harm.
Can You Sue for Emotional Abuse?
If you believe your loved one has experienced emotional abuse, the nursing home should be held accountable. Before you take action in a nursing home abuse case, you need to utilize all the tools available. Emotional abuse is a complex legal issue that may require an experienced attorney’s assistance.
