Long story. I worked in a nursing home kitchen for a month back in 2017, thankfully it was a temporary job as I was on summer break from university. There were so many things that were up with that place, and I kept on questioning my boss (the head cook) and the care home manager about many things. Firstly raw meat was stored on the top shelf in the fridge! So unhygienic. Not to mention that some of the kitchen staff had very poor personal hygiene too. I once saw one of my colleagues drop a boiled egg on the floor. To my horror, he put it straight back on the plate and gave it to a resident!
That's before we even get to some of the carers. I knocked on residents' doors when I entered a resident's room. One of the senior carers pulled me up about that, but I told him to do one. Thankfully the head cook had my back about that. Once I noticed that one of the stair banisters was loose in the dementia unit, which many residents used, and mentioned it to the maintenance guys. When they didn't do anything, I went straight to the care home manager to demand that it got done. She managed to turn the subject around from a health and safety issue, to me losing my job if I didn't shut up and toe the line. I was just speechless.
Oh, and the activities co-ordinator was one of the most horrible people I'd ever met. She was in charge when the manager wasn't around, but she was even worse than the manager. She acted so nice to the residents and their families, but she treated all the carers and the kitchen staff like dog s**t and used to go on frequent power trips. I remember on one evening shift, one of the nurses was unhappy because she thought I had served dessert portions too small. No issue, I offered to fix it. The nurse wasn't having that and got the activities co-ordinator, and five minutes later she gave me an absolute dressing down in front of all my colleagues. I must admit, I nearly walked out, but I didn't want to s***w the guys in the kitchen over either as they were already short staffed as it was. It was at that point that I decided, "I'm never coming back to this place once this shift is over".
The head cook texted me that evening after I'd finished work, and basically told me that whilst he liked me, I was not welcome back at all. Apparently I'd pissed off the higher ups for "talking back and being disrespectful". I had a feeling it was coming anyway though, and went back to university to complete my degree. Every time I have a bad day at my current job, I always think "At least I'm not at the nursing home".
Thankfully one of the kitchen staff who I had always got on with, quit his job not long after that and reported the nursing home to the council as an anonymous whistleblower. The council sent an inspector to the home and they noticed everything that was wrong. Apparently the care home manager got a massive fine, yet somehow still kept her job. To my amusement though, she complains in the town's Facebook group about being short-staffed.
That's before we even get to some of the carers. I knocked on residents' doors when I entered a resident's room. One of the senior carers pulled me up about that, but I told him to do one. Thankfully the head cook had my back about that. Once I noticed that one of the stair banisters was loose in the dementia unit, which many residents used, and mentioned it to the maintenance guys. When they didn't do anything, I went straight to the care home manager to demand that it got done. She managed to turn the subject around from a health and safety issue, to me losing my job if I didn't shut up and toe the line. I was just speechless.
Oh, and the activities co-ordinator was one of the most horrible people I'd ever met. She was in charge when the manager wasn't around, but she was even worse than the manager. She acted so nice to the residents and their families, but she treated all the carers and the kitchen staff like dog s**t and used to go on frequent power trips. I remember on one evening shift, one of the nurses was unhappy because she thought I had served dessert portions too small. No issue, I offered to fix it. The nurse wasn't having that and got the activities co-ordinator, and five minutes later she gave me an absolute dressing down in front of all my colleagues. I must admit, I nearly walked out, but I didn't want to s***w the guys in the kitchen over either as they were already short staffed as it was. It was at that point that I decided, "I'm never coming back to this place once this shift is over".
The head cook texted me that evening after I'd finished work, and basically told me that whilst he liked me, I was not welcome back at all. Apparently I'd pissed off the higher ups for "talking back and being disrespectful". I had a feeling it was coming anyway though, and went back to university to complete my degree. Every time I have a bad day at my current job, I always think "At least I'm not at the nursing home".
Thankfully one of the kitchen staff who I had always got on with, quit his job not long after that and reported the nursing home to the council as an anonymous whistleblower. The council sent an inspector to the home and they noticed everything that was wrong. Apparently the care home manager got a massive fine, yet somehow still kept her job. To my amusement though, she complains in the town's Facebook group about being short-staffed.