“Well-treatment means, above all, having the courage to talk about abuse”
Professor Antoine Piau, Clariane’s medical director, talks about an often-misunderstood notion: abuse. Whether it is intentional, caused by clumsiness or due to simple negligence, it challenges our relationship with well-treatment. According to Professor Piau, talking about abuse without fear of taboo is the first step towards collective progress.
Professor Antoine Piau
Well-treatment: understanding, naming, acting
Text transcription
While abuse can involve violence, it can also involve mishaps or negligence as a result of good intentions.
My favourite example is calling a lady "Granny" without her consent, after she fought all her life for the right to work, to vote, and wants to be called "Madam", as she deserves. It's demeaning, an abuse of position, and potentially abuse.
Another example of negligence is leaving a glass of water where a person can't reach it, when they can't move or alert you.
This deprives them of water, a vital need. Abuse is very common with vulnerable people, both at home and in facilities, whether they be children, elderly people or just adults. Even in quality facilities.
So, the objective of zero abuse, once again, using this broad definition, including negligence, can be idealistic, even dangerous.
Why dangerous? As we need to talk about it, report it, not be ashamed, for a transparent process of constant assessment and progress.
“Abuse includes violence, of course, but also clumsiness or neglect, even when they are motivated by good intentions.” Prof. Antoine Piau illustrates this reality with everyday situations: “speaking to a resident in an inappropriate way, or putting a glass of water out of the reach of a dependent person.” These actions appear inconsequential, but they reflect an unbalanced relationship and are an affront to dignity.
Abuse, he reminds us, exists everywhere: at home, in facilities and even in institutions with the highest standards. We must aim for “zero abuse”, but believing that it is totally achievable would be an illusion – a danger, even, because it can encourage teams to downplay incidents or not to report them in the face of unrealistic expectations. The real challenge lies in transparency and the culture of incident reporting in order to recognise situations, without shame, and to engage in a process of continuous evaluation and improvement.
Well-treatment begins when we agree to talk about abuse, without denying or concealing it.