Finding The Right Home
For Your Loved One
It’s never an easy decision to make choosing a nursing or care home for your loved one, but sometimes it’s a necessary choice, writes Tracy Hargreaves
Realising you are no longer able to live independently or needing regular assistance with an illness can be heart breaking, for both the individual and their family. Looking at nursing or care homes is not something we all want to do and trusting a loved one’s care in the hands of others can be difficult, ensuring that their needs are met, and they are safe. It’s a decision not to be made lightly and research is paramount.
Go off recommendations, ask around and look at reviews before you go and see a place. Visit a few to get a feel of the place. Turn up unexpectedly rather than make appointments, so you can see what it’s like at any time of day or night. Check out the food, how does it look and taste? Are the residents eating it, ask them what they think? See if they have a menu you can take away. Do they meet dietary requirements and have enough choice?
What can you hear? How do the staff talk to the residents? Do you hear any laughing? Is there a plan of daily activities for the residents to get involved in. If they are bedridden are activities brought to the room?
How do the staff look? Do they enjoy their job, do they look stressed? Or do they spend their days chatting and not looking after the residents.
Can you see any residents with bruising on their arms or legs? As we get older our skin becomes more fragile and skin more sensitive. Our bones get weaker making us susceptible to falls, so don’t assume any black and blue marks is a sign of abuse, but finger or hand shaped marks shouldn’t be ignored.
If your parent is confined to a bed, ask how often he or she is being rotated. This should correspond to the doctor’s orders, which can be every hour or two, and rotations should be marked on your parent’s medical chart. Are they offering the right care for your loved one and how qualified are the staff?
Choosing a nursing or care home can be a minefield, but with proper research, you will find the right one which can offer the right care, stability and attention your loved one needs. And one they will be happy to stay at.
