It feels like there is never a right time to choose a care home, it’s a daunting and scary thought for most people, and generally it is left until the family cannot cope with the care requirements of a loved one anymore and then there is a panic to try and find somewhere with a space.
Our advice would be to prepare well in advance of a loved one needing a care home. At this stage they can even be involved in the decision-making process and you will have a greater choice of homes available to you. As you will have time to be on waiting lists, plus you will be able to get to know the home much better. The more open you can be with your family and able to discuss plans, the easier it will be when the time comes to transitioning into a home.
If the home is for you, let them know what you want, where you might like to be and the types of activities you might be interested in doing. Get to know the homes you are interested in and ask to be kept on their mailing list.
We always welcome as many visits as possible for the new potential resident and their family to get to know us and the home. We like potential residents to feel familiar with the home and comfortable in the space. They are welcome to join in activities with us and stay for periods of time to really understand what it is like to be one of our residents.
When choosing a home, try to take your time, ask lots of questions about the day to day running of the home, how they care for residents and the activity programmes they run.
At Fairdene our focus is on person-centred care, this means that we get to know each of our residents on a personal level, not just the medical care they require, we like to know what hobbies they enjoy, the job they used to do, the family they have and what makes them happy. We use this to put together meaningful activities for each resident. For example, we have one resident who used to be a boxing promoter, so we take him down to the boxing gym to see everyone and watch some of the action. This is an activity he really enjoys but is personal to him – not everyone is going to want to head down to the boxing gym!
If your loved one has already had a diagnosis of a condition that is likely to affect them into their later years such as dementia, you might like to look at care homes that specialise in that condition.
As a dementia care home, we continually research the latest on dementia care and continually look to improve our home and dementia care. We have our own in-house chef to offer the most nutritious food and ensure there is healthy food for residents to help themselves to around the home. We offer jelly drops to ensure everyone stays hydrated. Each resident is encouraged to bring a memory book with them which has photos of friends and family and things they like to do. We love sharing these with the residents and hearing their stories of days gone by.
With a diagnosis of Dementia, it might be years before the person affected actually needs a care home, however the time will come when they are no longer able to look after themselves even with the help of carers, friends and families. It would be at this point that you would need to consider moving to a care home. In our opinion though, it should be before this point that you discuss the care home and look at the different ones available in order to know which care home is best suited to your loved one.
You might be able to register your interest and the home could keep you updated on availability as the time approaches. It may feel like a sad and scary step, however from a positive perspective, your loved one will be getting the care they need which means that you will be able to focus on your social relationship with them and it can really help to reduce the stress and tension that sometimes comes with being someone’s full-time carer.