caregiver fell asleep

[Trixie80]

my paid caregiver fell asleep Saturday afternoon and I couldn't wake her up. I tried for 20 minutes ringing my alarm, had someone call her. Finally I had someone come over and yell.
I can't yell, I had my bipap on and I am completely dependent on someone for everything.

im not sure if I write a letter to her and for her file, leave it alone or start looking for someone new?

what would you do??

 

[KarenNWendyn]

Has.she ever done this before? Is she otherwise a good caregiver? If there have been other red flags, then let her go.
I would also try to determine why she fell asleep— maybe she has a medical issue that needs treating, or maybe she had an emergency at home that kept her up at night. But short of there being an imminently fixable reason, I would also look for someone else.

 

[KimT]

Does she have a medical problem? I just can't imagine being that knocked out.

I think the issue needs to be addressed ASAP. If she is working for an agency, I think you need to report it because it could happen again. Start looking for someone who can tidy up and do miscellaneous tasks around your house when not directly attending to your needs. That'll keep them awake.

 

[KimT]

Looks like Karen & I posted at the same time.

 

[Trixie80]

I think I will talk to her and ask why she thinks it happened.
I was going to write her up, but that might send the wrong message. Thank for providing your thoughts.

 

[Dee Dee 0617]

This is going to sound very harsh, but there isn't any excuse acceptable for this. I would love to give the person the benefit of the doubt. Can we give the tired driver that benefit, when they fall asleep at the wheel and cause a death? How about an air traffic controller? Or any other profession that entails a life and death probability associated with it. Thank God you didn't need anything that had you not received in time could have resulted in death. Why are our numbered days discounted so an employee can sleep? No, you do not need to be concerned about their business. She should have called out. You do not deserve substandard care. I urge you to call her employer and report this incident. God forbid, but what if you had died?

 

[Jimi]

I would look for a different caregiver. Also get a louder alarm. I do feel a lot of sympathy for caregivers, as they are not paid well and have to deal with people who can be having some of the worse days of their lives. On the other hand, I worked as a mechanic for a bit years ago and didn't get paid well, but I managed to stay alert, otherwise someone may have had their car fall apart going down the freeway! I believe that some people just don't have the desire to take pride in their work. At the end of the day, you must take your safety seriously. If I have a problem with my bipap and don't have the backup system set up, there is very little room for error. I can't breathe. When I am going to be alone, I have a backup air in place, but with a caregiver that should not be necessary.

 

[aschoos]

I would talk to her first, if she has otherwise done a good job. Caregivers are hard to find, and it's a difficult job. What if she was up all night with a sick child? Didn't want to leave you stranded by calling in sick? Pretty harsh to feel it doesn't warrant a conversation at the least. You can still let her go afterwards if you still feel there was no excuse.

 

[Blackeyes]

In my experience someone who sleeps like that where they can’t be woken up is usually on drugs. If she has a medical condition that causes this then she would prob not be doing the job or def shouldn’t be doing the job. I run a business and if one of my employees fell asleep the repercussions would depend on which department it was in. If it was someone who was responsible for someone else def would let go. If it was someone who didn’t file a report on time then I would just write them up. I had an auditor who had left the desk and went into the back and fell asleep. When the next shift came there had been 4 missed calls. A guest who left But without receiving his deposit back and that was a very angry phone call and I had to give him a discount on top of it all. Plus she left the till unsupervised and we could have easily lost $700 and because the cameras were down we wouldn’t have known who it was. So the next shift couldn’t comes in can’t wake her up. I get there a little while later and screamed her awake. She was still out of it and when I asked her she said she had just smoked a little pot. And why was I mad it isn’t like the place burnt down....... she is no longer an employee. But my long winded point is your being paid to work. Not sleep. If you are unable to work 8 hours without a nap something isn’t right and if it’s medical u need to come clean specially when you are a care taker and someone is dependent on you. That’s the big issue. She is a caretaker who left you high and dry.
that’s irresponsible and what if next time something serious had happened to you and u needed medical attention immediately.

 

[affected]

It'd s really hard one isn't it?
I would give enough to speak with her and see if she can give a solid reason (not an excuse). If she has been totally dependable before this it is worth talking to her.

Because this is a paid position, you are well within your rights to expect her to turn up and stay awake for the shift.

Please let us know how you go - and I'm sorry this happened.

 

[Trixie80]

I ended up taking with her and she has had some family concerns, her sister had been in the hospital and she was not sleeping well. And like you guys said she didn't want to call in sick.
we have decided to keep her busy when she is here, no more watching movies with me, and to keep her shifts shorter.
good caregivers are hard to find and even harder to train.
all your input allowed me to make a solid decision to give her a second chance.
thanks again