How Does Staff Burnout Cause Injuries to Nursing Home Residents?
Staff burnout is not uncommon in Florida’s nursing homes. In many cases, it can result in devastating consequences for the residents in these facilities. Sometimes, staff burnout in long-term care settings can even result in death. Although intentional nursing home abuse can cause both physical and psychological injuries, there are other types of harm that are a result of unintentional neglect. This remains true when staff members are burnt out and so they do not address certain issues residents are dealing with after a long shift.
If your loved one is in a nursing home, it is important to know how staff burnout can result in injuries. Below, our Tampa nursing home neglect attorney explains in greater detail.
How is Staff Burnout Defined?
Staff burnout is a type of stress connected to one’s employment and can include feeling fatigued and worn out either emotionally or physically, according to the Mayo Clinic. Burnout can be more pronounced in nursing home staff members who have certain underlying conditions. Still, the point is that workers suffering from burnout will find it more difficult to fulfill their employment duties. Burnout is mostly seen in industries that have long hours, heavy workloads, and in professions that involve helping others with health care. All of these factors are applicable to nursing home staff members.
How Can Burnt Out Staff Members Result in Injuries to Nursing Home Residents?
As stated above, staff members do not have to intend to cause harm to nursing home residents in order for elderly individuals to become hurt. However, any inability to provide the level of care that nursing home residents need can cause bed sores to develop, a broken hip from a slip and fall, or other debilitating injuries caused by inattention. Although nursing homes can be held liable for a staff member’s intentional abuse of residents, it is important to know that long-term care facilities can also be held liable for unintentional injuries caused by negligence due to burnout.
According to the National Library of Medicine, burnout among nursing home staff members has three components. These are depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and limited personal accomplishment. Combined, these factors cause long-term care staff members to make more mistakes with residents and they are less likely to provide the amount of care that is necessary to prevent harm to residents. While burnout does negatively impact staff members, the more severe harm is that it impacts the quality of care nursing home residents receive.
Call Our Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys in Tampa Today
Residents in nursing homes can become injured in a number of different ways. Too often, these injuries are caused by staff members who act negligently due to burn out. Still, this is no excuse. At Kohn Law, our Tampa nursing home neglect attorneys can review the facts of your case, prove the facility is to blame, and hold them accountable for paying the full and fair settlement you are entitled to. Call us today at 813-428-8504 or chat with us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more about how we can help.
Sources:
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6502144/
