Supervison

Mrs M is a vulnerable service user we care for on a private basis she is a retired GP, she suffers from Dementia, is very hard of hearing and lives alone.

Recently one of our carers rang with concerns that Mrs M may be the victim of financial abuse.   Mrs M had told the carer that she had met a young man whilst out walking and that they had become friends.   Mrs M also mentioned that this man was calling round regularly, accepting meals and money from her.

I rang Mrs M and asked her if it was ok for me to call round and chat with her, she said that it was.   On arrival I ensured that we were able to chat in a comfortable, warm room which was private and well lit.   Whilst we were chatting I picked up the log book and read through the Care Plan and the Risk Assessment and routinely looked to make sure that it was up to date.   I noticed in the Care Plan that it mentioned Mrs M’s mental capacity and whether she would have the capacity to report or even identify any form of abuse.   I also drew Mrs M’s attention to the out of hours telephone number and explained that she could telephone anytime, night or day should she feel the need to.   I left the telephone number accessible where she could find it easily.

I sat across from Mrs M because of her hearing difficulties and positioned myself so she could clearly see my face.   I spoke to her clearly in a tone she was able to understand easily and paraphrased what I said.   During the course of the conversation I asked Mrs M if she would like to talk to me about her new friend.   Mrs M was happy to tell me about him.   I was concerned about some of the things she told me and told Mrs M that I had a duty of Care to ensure that Mrs M was protected from all forms of abuse, emotional, financial, sexual, physical and ........ and that it should be reported.

I asked Mrs M if she minded if spoke to her family and professionals saying that I thought it would be a good idea so that they were made fully aware.
Mrs M was not happy...