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A couple of weeks ago my father spent a few days in hospital and since returning to his nursing home he has been bedridden and quite despondent. The staff used to get him into his electric chair each day so he could join the other residents for lunch in the dining room or sit outside & listen for the birds he so enjoys.
In the home there are now about 15 residents including a few ladies in various stages of dementia. One of these ladies popped in to visit the other day and when she left she locked his door which is always left open.
It didn’t take long for him to get very hot and claustrophobic. He is paralyzed down one side and very weak on his “good” side so moving blankets off himself is basically impossible. He pressed his “help” button but no-one came and no-one heard his calls for help.
So he called triple 0 (the Australian equivalent of 911). He told the police he was locked in his room at the nursing home and they came to investigate probably thinking they were about to investigate abuse of the elderly. Mum said that the staff on duty were a bit annoyed with dad but that he was immensely cheered up by the fuss he’d created!
He’s still got some spunk!
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Aussie Emjay's Blog 
Good for your dad! That’ll teach the staff to ignore the “help” button. He should get a Hero award!
My mom would’ve called her Congressman from the room. No, seriously.
And she should have, Kim. It’s about time these places get slapped into shape. Damn, I know they are probably understaffed and all, but these people need good care.
They were annoyed with your dad? He should be annoyed at them for ignoring his “help” button. Why have a button like that if pushing it doesn’t get you any assistance? Grrrr.
Your poor father! Hell yeah, he should have called the cops! If the staff didn’t respond to his calls right away, can you imagine what might have happened if there was a fire, or if he really needed medical assistance?
And the locked door! LOL! That’s exactly what my mother would have done. She’s locked me out of the house more times than I can count.
Good on him!
Tell him your American friends are all admiration for his action.
Ditto what everyone else said, Glad to hear he’s still got some spunk and was cheered up by the fuss! hee hee.
Good for him!
Hey, he was trapped. You have to do what you have to do.
Hey, why the heck are THEY annoyed? It was gross negligence.
He should sue.
I think that’s f’d up! I’m sorry that it happened (an accident) but to not come when he called? Fuck ’em. Good on Da for dialling 000!
Good for him! Jackasses not coming when he called. I hope they were stressed out by the cops.
Why in the world are there locks on the door to begin with?
“Because they are old, not dead”. *wink* And that is a direct quote from my grandfather, wink and all, who was in a home himself, the old lech.
Maybe they’ll leave him the front desk number now? Sheesh. There are severeal homes around here like that, they hire cheap as they can, spread their people as thin as they can and provide as little services as possible. Just put people in a holding pattern while waiting for the end of life. Makes me furious. Some things should never be about money, ever. Respect and dignity are what our older people deserve. Good for him calling for outside help, goodness knows that the help he is paying for wasn’t doing him any good when he needed them most.
I agree with everyone…..it’s disgraceful that this should have occurred, and full marks to your Dad for stirring everybody up.
I laughed out loud. Good for him! I wonder if they will ignore him the next time he buzzes. LOL GREAT story 😉
Good on him! That will teach the staff to answer his bell! I see where the spunk comes from!
your dad sounds awesome 🙂
I think it was a brilliant solution. Well done, Dad!
Glad there’s still fight in the ol’ man!
Every time I see the post title, I think of Yaz/Yazoo’s song.
Oh, my gosh……..
(((((((((((hugs))))))))))))
Good for him! Your dad did exactly what he should have done under the circumstances. I love his spunk and spirit!
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