Daily assaults between care home residents, BBC reports

An investigation by File on 4 has revealed that police recorded 1,200 assaults between residents living at care homes between 2014 and 2016.

Some care workers said they were not always given full information about who might pose a risk and that assaults among residents are not uncommon.

Around 28 of the UK's 45 police forces responded to Freedom of Information requests asking how many resident-on-resident assaults were recorded by the police at care, nursing and residential homes for adults during the three-year period from 2014 to 2016.

Forces also provided brief descriptions of alleged incidents which ranged from kicking, pushing and punching.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents providers, commented: "That it's being reported to the police is a good thing, because that shows care homes are not keeping this information to themselves.

"As we see more people with different types of dementias and exhibiting more challenging behaviours, we have to have a system that's ready to respond to that."

In an interview with File on 4, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said: "People living in care homes should feel safe and be protected from harm - and it is the responsibility of those who are in charge of running these services to ensure this happens. Should CQC find this is not happening, we will always take action that holds providers to account."

Margaret Willcox, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), said: "In cases where a person's behaviour is more challenging for a care home to manage, it is essential the person is assessed, preferably by both a social care professional and the NHS."

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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