Organisational abuse
Neglect and poor care practice within a specific care setting.
What is organisational abuse
Organisational abuse includes neglect and poor care practice within a specific care setting. This could be a hospital or a care home, but also the care you receive in your own home.
The abuse can either be a one-off incident or an ongoing culture of ill-treatment (external link). The abuse can take many forms, including neglect, and poor professional practices as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices in an organisation.
Examples of organisational abuse
Inappropriate use of power or control.
Inappropriate confinement, restraint, or restriction.
Lack of choice – in food, in decoration, in lighting and heating, and in other environmental aspects.
Lack of personal clothing or possessions.
No flexibility of schedule, particularly with bed times.
Physical or verbal abuse.
Signs of organisational abuse
Discouraging visits or the involvement of relatives or friends
Run-down or overcrowded establishment
Authoritarian management or rigid regimes
Lack of leadership and supervision
Insufficient staff or high turnover resulting in poor quality care
Abusive and disrespectful attitudes towards people using the service
Inappropriate use of restraints
Lack of respect for dignity and privacy
Failure to manage residents with abusive behaviour
Poor communication
Lack of information sharing
Not providing adequate food and drink, or assistance with eating
Not offering choice or promoting independence
Misuse of medication
Failure to provide care with dentures, spectacles or hearing aids
Not taking account of individuals’ cultural, religious or ethnic needs
Failure to respond to abuse appropriately
Interference with personal correspondence or communication
Failure to respond to complaints
An unsafe, unhygienic or overcrowded environment.
Withdrawing people from community or family contacts.
No choice offered with food, drink, dress or activities.
No respect or provisions for religion, belief, or cultural backgrounds.
Treating adults like children, including arbitrary decision-making.
Cuts, bruises, and restraint
Discouraging visits, or the involvement of friends and relatives.
Like all types of abuse, there is no single cause of organisational abuse. It generally happens in institutions where staff are:
Poorly trained.
Poorly supervised.
Unsupported by management, or otherwise unaccountable.
Bad at communicating.
Organisational abuse can involve more than one abuser. Though a culture that doesn’t recognise or respond to the actions of a lone abuser can be just as harmful to the adult at risk.