Nursing homes are governed by standards and acreditaion and have been for a number of years now. It costs a facility lots of money to gain accreditation.

• So why are residents still being gotten out of bed and showered at 4.30 am and sat in the day room?
  why are residents only allowed 1-2 incontinence pads per day?
  why are residents clothes changed in the dinning room during the day?
  and why is the person who just took 20 residents to the tiolet preparing the food for all the residents..

Why? because it "doesn't happen" (well, its not "documented"...so it mustn't happen....right?).

The accreditation teams believe that if it is written that these things do or dont occur, then it must be so.

As an agency nurse a few years ago I was asked to write the global on one of my residents, his daily activity so after I wrote mr .... was gotten out of bed at 7 showered and placed in the day room he was fed at 8 and 1230 and returned to bed at 3.

I got in trouble for not writing that mr...engaged in conversation with fellow residents played bingo and cards and asked to return to his room. the reason I didnt write that was IT DID NOT HAPPEN.

Most of the paperwork for accreditation is left for the night shift, after all not only do they have more time but they spend more time with the residents and know more about them, don't they..

The accreditation teams should be made to realise that more paperwork equates to less care especially in facilities that run with a ratio of 1 carer to 12-14 residents...