You would hope that once you place your parents into a care home, they will be well looked after. Most of the time, we do this because we don't have the time or facilities to look after our loved ones during this difficult period, hoping that professionals can do what we can't and keep their health as high as it can be.
However, there are some cases in which these institutions become a place of abuse rather than support. Surveillance footage has now been publicly released after an investigation into the events was conducted over the last few years, in which nurses were captured laughing as a man in their care is dying. This man, it turns out, was also a veteran from World War Two.
The unsettling video was filmed at the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation Center in 2014, after the patient's son placed a hidden camera in the room. Speaking to local news station Channel 2, Tim explained that he did this after hearing complaints of abuse from his father, though at the time he assumed his suspicions may be over-the-top.
"We would have just thought it was natural causes and everything was done that should have been done and he passed away in his sleep," Tim said.
The 89-year-old James Dempsey called for help and gasped for air, while the nursing staff seemingly didn't provide much support. Eventually the team do offer some help, but can be seen laughing and joking as Dempsey's breathing machine fails.
Initially it was reported that he died of natural causes but when his son Tim reviewed hidden surveillance footage he saw what really happened, starting off a three-year legal battle with the home. After the nursing home fought to keep the footage secret, it has now been publicly released, including footage of the deposition in court on November 23 2015.
[[youtubewidget||https://youtu.be/iVVZwBLZ8i4]]
In the video you can hear the Dempsey family's lawyer Mike Prieto questioning the former nursing supervisor, who claims that gave Dempsey CPR before the emergency services arrived. They argue that this claim is disproven by the security footage.
Dempsey first pressed his call light at 4:35 am, twelve minutes later a nurse arrived and all she does is readjust his bed and turn off the light, all while he struggles to breath. Then at 6:30 am you can see the nurses attempt to restart the oxygen machine while laughing and joking. The care home has reportedly built up $813,000 in Medicare fines since 2015
Mr. Dempsey's case has surfaced after a plethora of allegations against various nursing homes in the U.S. have come to public attention in recent times. An investigation by
CNN
found that more than 16,000 complaints of sexual abuse have been reported since 2000 in long-term care facilities. Hopefully, with news like this coming to light, we can begin to stamp out this kind of abusive behaviour in the institutions that are meant to be caring for people.
