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Scores of elderly people tied to beds in unregistered facilities

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People here work hard for most of their lifetime and towards the end of their lives they get this. This is disgusting.

After a media report in November, we investigated the service operator, and found that about 130 elderly people out of 150 residents in condominiums were bound to their beds or locked in their rooms by care workers,” an official told AFP

I'd like to know why it's taken this long to do something about it?

13 ( +14 / -1 )

And no one blamed...or jailed. Strictly been forbidden from ages in Europe at least. In Japan, after you become wortless to society, you need to die. Truth hard to say and well hidden.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

I worked in an elderly care facility a number of years ago, and this is sadly a common method of controlling the movement of seniors. It's sad to say the least, and what is worse is that while the government says "stop", they provide no help or assistance in getting more qualified workers to assist these facilities with the care of the patients.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

It's really all on the government. They determine nursing home reimbursements, worker pay and just about every other factor except the actual day-to-day running of the facilities, which can't find qualified workers at those pay levels anyway. No one (except those private facilities serving the more affluent) is getting rich providing what has become one of Japanese society's most essential services. Look a little farther down the road, when the current unmarried generation needs care, and you have a disaster in the making for everyone.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Can you imagine working hard, trying to take care of yourself and others your whole life, then paying outta your life savings to be "cared" for when your old and feeble and you end up being bullied and abused? Makes me mad hearing about this. It's like pushing around kids or people too weak to stand up for themselves.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

did the patients have dementia or some other brain disease? why else would they need to be restrained or locked in their rooms. and why didn't they report this themselves. odd story...

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

If patients have enough energy to attempt escape, it's not unusual that they try.

Care homes subject to market forces like anything else, but result is worse for you, if you're a patient.

Best thing would be to find something like a care home managed like a credit union, where a board of the membership is at the top. You'd expect empathy to be a lot better there. But don't know if such exist. I think they do have retirement cooperatives somewhere.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I have often commented in various threads about elderly dying alone, shoplifting etc etc & asked if YOU want get old & die in Japan?

I usually scored high with the negs when I posed the question of getting old in Japan.

Clearly its already a absolute disaster, unless you have a LOT of yen stashed away THIS is your future what your reading here, except is likely going to be much worse by the time its your turn!

As of now there is pretty nothing in place that's even BARELY acceptable for your average Tanaka!

Just hope you go fast when the time comes, you go down slooooooow it will be HELL!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

“Carers say they used the body restraints on the instruction of doctors, but without considering whether such measures were necessary,” Does doctor own the care facility?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

They allow these and unlicensed nursery schools because they don't want to shell out or take the blame, but it's disgusting nothing is one and no one charged. Only in Japan.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Carers say they used the body restraints on the instruction of doctors, but without considering whether such measures were necessary

If the doctor's instructed, what is there to consider by a caregiver? Is this statement lost in translation?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

NHK just reported a couple of nights ago that their investigation revealed the actual number of these unlicensed facilities was three times what Tokyo authorities were currently aware of. Which suggests rather strongly that the number of elderly being subjected to abuse is three times greater than what's being reported above. There is also that added possibility that abuse is even more rife, particularly when the facility owners work hard to remain undetected. I.e., NHK investigators likely didn't find them all either.

Some archeologists and social scientists say that one of the hallmarks of a civilized society is how it deals with its dead. Are funerals held? Are people remembered after they've passed? Are they memorialized in some way? It would seem the new benchmark for a civilized society isn't just how people deal with the dead, but also how they deal with their elderly.

The rampant abuses being heaped upon very demographic that built this country from (and among) the ashes of WWII is offensive on so many levels. What do lawmakers and society in general believe is an appropriate response to this kind of abuse? I mean, beyond the usual, "Ahh... Taihen desu ne" precluded by the obligatory sucking-in-air-through-teeth token?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

To the people who negged me, just wait until your older, cant say I didn't warn ya!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Any reason why they were bolted to the beds?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Why don't they just install door locks?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Any reason why they were bolted to the beds? ... Why don't they just install door locks? ...

Violent patients can hurt other patients ... wandering patients can hurt themselves just getting out of bed, or could escape the facility, or just cause trouble in general ...

Facilities can reduce staff and save money by limiting mobility of patients. Sometimes by just restricting problem patients to wheelchairs til they lose ability to walk, and become dependent on the wheelchairs.

Can imagine the problem is much worse with unlicensed facilities not subject to inspection and to verification of staffing levels. USA has mandatory staffing levels and (somewhat rare, I think) inspections, I guess Japan does, too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I guess it is good that old people are not abandoned on mountains anymore as in Narayama Bushiko.

Japan does a good job I think with the not-so-old, with good societal and community organizations. The real challenge is in dealing with the really senior and the really infirmed. As Korea, America, and China head down this path of rapidly aging societies, I hope Japan can show a better way of meeting this challenge.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

there is more to this problem than just restraining, many of these patients will wonder off without constant supervision, unfortunatley there arnt enought care workers in many facilities to watch them all 24/7. also many can be agressive to other patients and themselves.. if the gov really wants to help fix the problem they should be increasing the wages and number of workers available in these centers. I have a relative who is just one of these workers and while she doesnt condone this practice, in many understaffed facilities not to do so would do more harm to the patient/s in the long term

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Why don't they register? Does it cost too much to register?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why don't they register? Does it cost too much to register?

In general, these tend to be less-than-scrupulous operators. Registering a business as an "official" care home means rules and regulations, annual inspections, reporting requirements and a lot of bothersome paperwork. Who wants to deal with it when they can just take the cash from the family?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

“It was difficult for us to see the wrongdoing because these condominiums were not formally registered as residences for the elderly. The landlords had insisted that they were being rented out as regular homes,” the Tokyo official said.

So you had enough suspicions to ask but then just took their word for it? Typical Japanese "official".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They allow these and unlicensed nursery schools because they don't want to shell out or take the blame, but it's disgusting nothing is one and no one charged. Only in Japan.

Only in Japan huh? Glad to know you researched every country in the entire World.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

FAIL! Japan has a long way to go to provide adequate care for its ageing society. Most facilities are reputable, but very expensive. This is what leads to the need for cheaper and unregulated aged care facilities. This problem is the result of the 'live for now' mentality of the bubble era in the 60's, 70's and 80's. They set up the pension and health care funds based on the boom era and never changed it. Now, the current declining working population has to foot the bill for the lack of foresight during the boom time. And, of course, it is the patients that are most disadvantaged. I'm also pretty irate that I have to foot the bill for the previous generation.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Cruelty but i have heard of horror stories about other countries rest homes too.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I think they should rename both the "carer" figure and the "facility" with something more appropriate and in line with the forceful manners and strict rules implemented. I'd rather be alone in my home that mistreated in one of these "facilities" .

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

YubaruFeb. 19, 2015 - 07:52AM JST I worked in an elderly care facility a number of years ago, and this is sadly a common method of controlling the movement of seniors. It's sad to say the least, and what is worse is that while the government says "stop", they provide no help or assistance in getting more qualified workers to assist these facilities with the care of the patients.

You're 100% right Yubaru. This is the real story here. One worker is often trying to supervise dozens of elderly, often senile or demented, patients. If a patient goes missing, is injured or dies then the worker is held responsible.

Put yourself in their shoes, how would you manage even a half dozen elderly patients suffering from dementia? Locking them in their rooms at night so they don't go wandering seems like a sensible and defensible precaution. And if they're prone to injuring themselves by beating their heads against the wall or trying to climb out the windows of a 10th floor apartment... then restraining them in their beds also begins to look like a sensible option.

The bottom line is that most of the armchair critics here blaming these workers don't have a clue what it is like to be responsible for even one seriously demented patient, much less a dozen or more in a building not built for that purpose and with a hundred different ways for these seniors to seriously injure themselves.

The Japanese government needs to take responsibility and properly staff and equip these facilities. And the media needs to place blame where it belongs, on the system, not the poor workers trying to do their best to stop these people from injuring themselves.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

It's really all on the government. They determine nursing home reimbursements, worker pay and just about every other factor except the actual day-to-day running of the facilities, which can't find qualified workers at those pay levels anyway.

How can this be "on the government" when these landlords refused to register as elderly-assistance facilities?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The elephant in the room...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

DaDude: "They allow these and unlicensed nursery schools because they don't want to shell out or take the blame, but it's disgusting noth

"Only in Japan huh? Glad to know you researched every country in the entire World."

Admittedly I left out some third world countries. Feel free to point out how Liberia might be worse.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

24 percent of Japanese people are mentally unfit according to a recent survey. Its not wise to allow such to roam freely otherwise you may end up being sorrounded by them.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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