Nursing Home Understaffing

Nursing home understaffing is a serious problem with dire consequences. When nursing homes hired too few nurses and other personnel, instances of abuse and neglect become more common. In fact, many attorneys who file legal claims against nursing homes cite understaffing as a key contributor to improper wound care, bed sores, abuse, neglect, malnutrition, dehydration, and a host of other examples of abuse and negligence. If understaffing has led to an injury against you or family member, contact a Hollywood nursing home neglect lawyer for legal advice and representation.

In some cases, nursing homes prioritize profits and try to reduce costs by hiring fewer workers. In other cases, nursing homes want to hire more staff, but struggle to do so. Nursing homes are often high stress environments and in facilities where working conditions are not very good staff may leave frequently, leading to high employee turnover as well as staffing gaps.

Nursing home understaffing can also occur when nursing homes can't find adequate numbers of qualified personnel and choose to hire less qualified persons to help out. If they cannot find enough registered nurses, for example, nursing homes may choose general staff to help out. While this can mean that the staff to patient ratio remains high, it can still lead to understaffing problems because there are still too few people who are qualified to really help residents.

There is no excuse for improper care, so contact a nursing home neglect lawyer serving Hollywood if you or a family member have been injured. A lawyer can advise you of your rights during this difficult time and can guide you through the legal claim process if you do decide to take legal action.

Understaffing in a nursing home can be deadly. When there are too few nurses and other workers in a nursing home, bedsores are more likely to happen because there are fewer employees to move residents with mobility conditions. Problems such as improper and wound, slip and fall accidents, malnutrition, neglect and other issues are also more likely to happen because a smaller number of staff simply cannot give enough attention or supervision to each individual resident.

Understaffed in a nursing home environment can also lead to abuse. These types of positions are already stressful for nurses and caregivers. When there are too few workers, staff may be required to take on more tasks for many hours of overtime. This can lead to stress and resentment which can increase the risk of abusive behavior. Mistakes are also more likely to happen when staff are overworked and fatigued, meaning medical mistakes and medication errors become more likely.

If you or a family member have been injured due to understaffing or nursing home abuse or neglect, contact an attorney right away. You can always contact Flaxman Law Group if you would like a free accident consultation with a professional attorney. To get your consultation, contact us online today or call 866-352-9626.