A nursing home should provide the necessary care to its residents who are among the most vulnerable groups of people in society. It should be a haven for seniors living out their sunset years. Unfortunately, it is not always the case.
The elderly are prone to nursing home abuse. If your loved one is a nursing home resident, you need to be proactive in ensuring their safety. Look for tell-tale signs of abuse whenever you visit them and take appropriate action. For example, insect bites on your loved one could indicate negligence at the facility.
Insects can be forensic indicators of neglect
Some insects, such as the Green Bottle Fly, are drawn to odors like ammonia from urine and fecal matter. It could mean that an incontinent elderly resident may not be getting routine bodily hygiene.
Bedbug bites may also point to poor sanitary conditions when the bed sheets are not regularly changed. Ant infestations could also be behind the bite marks on your loved ones. It could suggest nursing home neglect because someone ought to have noticed the issue before it spiraled out of control.
In some cases, some insect bites can lead to skin infections, which can be deadly among the elderly folk.
Protecting your loved ones
Your loved one is owed a legal duty of care as a resident of a nursing home facility, and someone ought to be held accountable for neglect. However, in some cases, only you can act on their behalf since they may not have the capacity to act on their own.
While you should arrange for an alternative home for your loved one when you establish abuse or neglect, it is equally necessary to start building a case against the negligent nursing facility and get justice.