Six in 10 nurses 'would turn blind eye to abuse of elderly'

Nearly six out of ten of those surveyed said they would turn a blind eye to an elderly patient or care home resident being beaten, bullied or robbed.

The main reason given was concern over wrongly accusing someone, followed by fear of the person carrying out the abuse.

Disturbingly, one in nine nurses also said they would feel unhappy if their own parents or relatives stayed in the hospital or care home where they worked.

The findings come in the wake of fresh evidence that physical and mental maltreatment of older people has become rife in hospitals and care homes.

Help the Aged, which conducted the survey, said: "It is a national disgrace that we sit back while thousands of older people are abused every day."

Legal expert Jean Gould added: "We are sending a message to perpetrators that it is fine to take advantage of older, vulnerable adults."

The Royal College of Nursing appealed to its members to speak out if they encountered maltreatment.

Rebecca Neno, from the union, said: "Nurses must not be afraid of upsetting or embarrassing the older person. They have a duty to safeguard and protect these patients."

The survey was carried out among 848 readers of the journals Nursing Standard and Nursing Older People.

Some 58 per cent of nurses questioned said they would not report the abuse of an elderly patient or individual in their care "for fear of misinterpreting the situation".

More than a quarter (26 per cent) said fear of confrontation by the abuser would prevent them from reporting suspected abuse.

Fewer than one in six declared that "nothing would prevent them from reporting abuse".

The survey also found that more than two-thirds felt they had too little training in abuse to provide proper care.

Around six out of ten also said they had to look after too many patients, meaning they could not give them all the level of care they would like.

The suggestion that the majority of nurses would be tempted to ignore the abuse of older patients follows a report from MPs and peers earlier this month which found a fifth of care homes are failing to meet even the most basic standards of privacy and dignity.

It found that in the worst care homes, residents often suffer malnutrition and dehydration, abuse and rough treatment, lack of privacy, neglect, poor hygiene and bullying. Some are left for hours lying in soiled clothes.

The Human Rights Committee's report also condemned the bullying of elderly residents and threats to evict those who complain.

It has emerged there are also compelling indications that many elderly people suffer mistreatment - including neglect, physical abuse and theft - in their own homes.

A study by the National Centre for Social Research suggested 342,000 suffer such abuse every year.

Many cases have been highlighted as part of the Daily Mail's Dignity for the Elderly campaign.

Another charity for the elderly warned yesterday that malnutrition among older people is continuing largely unchecked.

A year ago, Age Concern published a study which found six out of ten elderly people in hospitals were at risk of malnutrition.

It recommended hospitals took extra care to make sure elderly patients were not allowed to go hungry for simple reasons such as being unable to reach food put by their beds.

Director Gordon Lishman said: "There is still much to be done."

Lily Leatham's weight dropped by six stone in the six months she spent at Laurel Bank nursing home in Halifax.

The 81-year-old widow, pictured, entered the £425-a-week home in November 2003 after beginning to suffer from dementia following a stroke. Her house was sold to pay her fees.

Her relatives were not told she was eating too little and that she had developed sores and blisters through immobility.

Her sores were so bad that her hip bone could be seen. The family-later discovered she had been left sitting in a lounge all day without being moved.

By the time Mrs Leatham was taken out of the home she could no longer walk and it took 80 days in hospital for her to recover.

The care standards watchdog later upheld 17 out of 21 complaints about her treatment at the nursing home.

A judge also awarded Mrs Leatham compensation after the operators of the home admitted neglect.