I have heard stories about skilled nursing facilities (SNF) requiring families to hire outside caregivers to help residents with bodily function needs if their needs exceed what the SNF can provide. For example, if a resident soils his/her pants and the SNF staff cannot be there immediately to clean them, they sit in their filth until someone comes along to do it.
Is this true?
Don't stress out over “what if’s” until and if they become a reality. Give yourself credit for knowing how to deal with things like this if you need to.
If a resident can not express what they need or use a call bell, expectations of someone being there “immediately” to assist in toileting issues are pretty unrealistic.
However, a 30 minute wait for a change is unfortunately not that unusual. My husband is in a rehab facility right now and he tells me he’s waited 45 minutes. He’s also told me his aide left at 11PM one night and was back on the job at 7AM. Because the pay isn’t anywhere near adequate for what these people have to do, facilities are woefully understaffed.
There is a certain amount of acceptance of how things are in facilities. Waiting for the aide doesn’t unduly upset my husband. If he soils himself, he feels bad, but it’s not really his fault no one showed up, you know? It doesn't happen that often.
Remember, if you have any issues, you can always call a care conference with the staff. It’s your right.
In any event, the other thing to consider is that the resident would have to be alert/aware enough to push the call button to ask for help with a diaper change to begin with. I don't know how often the staff make their rounds to check on residents for those kinds of needs, so that would be a good question to ask up front. I do know they come around very early in the morning, like 4 or 5 am to do diaper changes, so the residents do not wind up laying in soiled undergarments for longer than necessary.