*This is a collaborative post.
In October, the country was horrified to hear about the mistreatment of a resident with dementia in her luxury residential care home. For many struggling with the dilemma of how best to look after their elderly loved ones, especially those suffering from dementia or mobility issues that make their staying at home very difficult, if not impossible, the news story must have raised a plethora of concerns and doubts. The care home responsible placed the blame (truthfully) on one or two ‘rogue individuals’ who have been removed from the home – but that still means the elderly lady in question was harmed in a place she should feel safe, and that her children suffer tremendous guilt for putting her in that situation in the first place. How can you be sure you are choosing a safe, high quality care home? Let’s take a look.
Firstly, Abuse is Rare
The ‘good’ news about this story is that it did cause a strong reaction of horror and anger, and that is because cases like this are rare. They still have the power to shock us, and that only happens when occurrences are low (of course, this does not make them any the less heinous when they do happen). Any instances of abuse or suspected abuse are usually mentioned in local presses, on social media and on review sites. When you are compiling your list of potential care homes, google your current choice and see what has been written about it as this can offer an insight that you would otherwise not be privy to.
Visit the Home
When you have a shortlist of potential homes – click here for a list of Eastleigh care homes in Somerset –make sure you visit each one, preferably with your elderly relative, and spend a decent amount of time touring the place, having a meal or cup of tea, if possible, with the carers and residents. Seeing how the residents interact with the staff can let you know about the atmosphere in the home, and will also allow your loved one to see if they will happily fit into the way of life at the home.
What are the Carers and Nurses Like?
Carers should be more than practical nurses, offering human connection as well as being scrupulously attentive to the medical and physical needs of each resident.
What Will Your Money Pay For?
Read attentively any descriptions of what is on offer at the home and ascertain whether your relative will be able to make full use of the facilities. For example,
Emma Williams from Relatives and Residents Association says you should look out for a number of features, especially for a resident with dementia. She says, amongst other things:
- Staff – all staff, including cleaners, kitchen staff, should have dementia training
- Visiting hours should be plentiful and open: abuse thrives in enclosed secretive environments
- CQC reports should be freely available
- Care plans for each resident should be reviewed monthly and updated as needed
- Night staff should always be present, with clear emergency protocols
You Should Feel Welcome
Just to reiterate one of Emma’s points: you should always be welcome to pop in and see your loved one. Not only is this good for them, giving them contact with the outside world and their ‘real life’ but it allows you to keep an eye on your relative and make sure she is receiving the best possible care.
Go With Your Gut
Sometimes you walk into a place and you just know that it is going to be wonderful – of course, you should verify this with the checks mentioned above, but in general we have quite highly honed senses for danger or discomfort that are hard to express in words, we just know something is wrong or right. More often than not, this sense is exactly right, so don’t be too quick to dismiss your intuition – having done your due diligence, of course!
