Loyalty to the nursing home or the patients?

I'd play his game. Tell him first. However, give him only a week to correct things, only a day or two if patient safety is at risk. If he says anything, just tell him "I brought it up with you first and waited a reasonable amount of time for you to correct it, now I have no choice but to take the problem to someone who will handle it before an injury occurs." Document EVERYTHING and get pics if you can - that's job insurance.

You follow the chain of command and the procedures laid out by your employer, the only reason to go outside the facility is if you have exhausted all the in house options available and there is still no resolution.

Who owns the wheelchair? If it belongs to the family then it is their responsibility to keep it in good repair, if it belongs to the facility then there should be a process in place to report maintenance needs. You should have refused the unsafe transfer due to equipment failure. After speaking to his wife you should have assisted the family with how to properly report a problem - talking to you and other aides isn't it.

I'm coming back to add - My answer is based on the assumption that you are a new employee and have no reason to assume that your concerns would go unaddressed. I did a lot of stupid things when I was a young worker that I never should have attempted, it is a sign of maturity that you can admit you can't do something and you ask for help.

"Loyalty" to your employer should never include breaking the law to cover for them, endangering people or acting immorally.

Does your employer have an employee manual in which it explains any sort of protocol for reporting broken equipment? If not, then I would request a protocol in writing from your manager that is distributed to all the staff. Any communications you have with with manager or admin should be through email so that you have a record of what was said and when. Then, after a "reasonable" period of time, i would send a follow-up email stating that the equipment has not been fixed and a dangerous and illegal situation is being created. Don't be accusatory or emotional or threatening, just informative. But you should also state that you will need to seek further action outside of the facility if the the unsafe situation for both the staff and residents is not cleared up asap. There may also be some sort of ombudsman organization that this can be reported to but I'm not familiar with it, This will protect the residents and your job. Good luck and God bless for having a moral compass.

Actually I’m living in Israel. Israel was founded by socialists (if not communists) and although times have changed and May Day parades with red flags are in the past there are pretty strong protections for workers rights. There are special labor courts. Were I to be fired the burden of proof would fall on the employer to prove that it was not in retribution for my complaint.

Having said that, I’ll work as a janitor before I stand by and watch innocent helpless people be endangered. I would not have said anything unless I was angry enough to quit.

You might be interested in reading a book called "Wilful Blindness" by Margaret Heffernan. It explains how it comes about that egregious malpractices of all sorts are sustained by groups' cultures and mindsets.

All the same you are an employee of an organisation, and it would be reasonable of that organisation to expect you first of all to follow the procedure it lays down for reporting concerns and complaints. Did you?

Talking to co-workers and service users isn't it. You should first of all have taken this to your line manager. If nothing happened, then you go either further up the reporting chain, or to external regulators.

But to say you must "never" make a complaint to the health department is disingenuous and nonsensical. There are all kinds of situations that might arise when you would be morally, and arguably professionally, obliged to.

Asking your manager on what basis he claims to know that you made a formal complaint to the department of health is a fair question, certainly one I'd want answered if I were you. Did the person you spoke to agree that your report would be treated in confidence?

Anyway - so what's the outcome of this conversation with your line manager so far? Will the wheelchair(s) be repaired? What will be done to address the various manual handling problems?

I am wondering: are families of nursing home patients afraid to contact the department of health? I get that impression a little bit. Maybe they don’t want to anger the management?

You are to be appreciated for your work in a nursing home. You evidently care about your patients. Yes, first I would go to the manager to inform him/her of the issues with broken brakes on wheelchairs, BUT I would put it in writing, sign it and keep a copy of what I submitted. If you have a great manager, the problems will be resolved quickly. If they are not resolved, then you should consider your next course of action. Best to you for all you do.

Every facility must have on staff maintenance workers. Contact one of them and demand the items be fixed at once. And do this in writing and keep copies. You might consider giving one to the management. This is totally unacceptable and I think highly illegal as well. Give the manager the facts and ask that things be fixed. Do this verbally and then hand him the same request in writing. Tell him you made a copy for your legal file. I have done this and boy, everything gets fixed at once. Apparently the bosses of the manager don't like it when they are given complaints - makes them look bad. Your manager is protecting himself. Give him a chance to make things right and tell him if he does not do that, you will go higher. Keep detailed records of everything going on.

I suspect the manager has NOT been given the staffer's name, but is saying he "knows it was you" to all staff to see what their reaction is. And he presumes he will KNOW who made the complaint based on the reaction he gets. Follow the good advice on this forum and document photograph and sign, again and again as necessary. Thank you for doing such a great job and caring! Best wishes to you and all the best for your future.

Thank you for protecting your resident. Yes. We are to look out for vulnerable people. The manager already knew about the unsafe equipment. Moreover, your loyalty to the business kept them from being sued to west hell... You are always protected when you do what's right for people. Let the devil be a liar... Keep up the good work! 🤗
My Mom is in nursing care. I appreciate your sharing....