Recently, in Yuncheng, Shanxi, an 85-year-old elderly person was physically assaulted by the mother of the director of a nursing home, resulting in multiple fractures all over the body. The elderly person is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
According to a post made by a netizen on August 29, at around 3 am on August 22, the mother of the director at Hongda Elderly Care Home allegedly assaulted the 85-year-old elderly person until daybreak, even threatening the elderly person not to inform their family members. It was not until the afternoon of the same day at 5 pm that the elderly person managed to secretly make a phone call using someone else’s phone, and was then urgently taken to the hospital. After examination, the elderly person was found to have multiple fractures and significant external injuries. Initially, the nursing home staff denied the assault, claiming that the elderly person caused the injuries themselves. It was only after the police reviewed the surveillance footage that they admitted to the assault, and the director of the nursing home has yet to apologize for the incident.
On September 1, Mr. Xie, the son of the elderly person, told the Xinjing News that his 85-year-old mother, who suffers from mild Alzheimer’s disease, resides in a nursing home in Peishe Town, Wenxi County, Yuncheng, Shanxi, operated jointly by the director Wei and Wei’s mother. On the afternoon of August 22, he received a phone call from his mother revealing that she had been assaulted. Upon arriving at the nursing home, he found multiple bruises on his mother’s face and immediately took her to seek medical treatment.
The hospital’s medical diagnosis report indicated that the elderly person had fractured ribs, thoracic vertebrae, compression fracture of the lumbar vertebrae, pleural effusion, superficial injuries to the head, scalp hematoma, facial injuries, and accompanying conditions such as lacunar infarction in the brain, cerebral softening, heart failure, urinary tract infection, and moderate anemia.
Mr. Xie’s mother is still undergoing treatment in the hospital. “Her condition is very poor, she keeps saying she is afraid of being hit by someone,” Mr. Xie stated. Initially, the individuals involved denied the assault until the surveillance footage was retrieved. Furthermore, on the day of the incident, he had asked the director about his mother’s condition during the day, but the director only showed him a video of his mother’s lower body, claiming everything was fine, only to later discover that he had deliberately concealed the truth.
Currently, the persons involved have been detained by the authorities, while Mr. Xie and the family are awaiting the results of the assessment of his mother’s injuries.
Elderly abuse in mainland nursing homes is not an isolated incident.
On November 26, 2024, a video was shared on social media revealing that a 90-year-old grandfather was being physically abused by caregivers in a nursing home in Yangxi County, Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province. The video showed visible bruises on the elderly person’s forehead, eye sockets, and arms. The incident occurred at the Yangxi Riyue Elderly Care Service Co., Ltd.
In March 2023, a septuagenarian with Alzheimer’s disease was assaulted by a caregiver in a nursing home in Zhongshan District, Dalian, Liaoning, leading to a rupture of the eyeball. According to the family members of the elderly person, the assault occurred because the elderly person did not cooperate while getting dressed.
In July 2022, an elderly person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in Chongqing was repeatedly abused by nursing staff in a nursing home, including being slapped and hit in the face with a cloth. When family members visited the elderly person and noticed abnormal behavior, bloodshot eyes, and slow walking, they took the elderly person to the hospital for examination and reported the incident to the authorities. After assessment, it was determined that the elderly person suffered minor cranial brain injury.