Choosing a care/residential or nursing home is not easy. Some may be set in beautiful grounds, some may look quite old and worn out and others may be modern with wonderful views over the countryside. Do not take any of this into consideration when choosing any of the above. Yes you want lovely surroundings etc but the most important point of all is the care your loved one will receive. Staff, their attitude and how they treat the residents is all important.
Step One:-
View as many homes as possible. Call in unannounced. Talk to residents and more importantly their families. Look at the rooms. Do the residents look well cared for, clean, tidy and get the attention they deserve? Speak with staff - nurses, carers, kitchen and cleaning staff, - ask plenty of questions. You will get a feel of what is right. Are the current residents able to chat/talk? (One of the homes we were looking at for mum was set up on a hill with views over the city. It looked impressive but most of the residents who were able to communicate stayed in their rooms all day and played music or watched television. The residents who sat in the lounge could not communicate). This wasn't for mum. She was chatty and liked company). Call in at night, see how many night staff are on duty. We did not find the night nursing staff in one particular nursing home very helpful. Everything was too much trouble. If necessary call back to the various homes as many times as you need before making your decision. It's not easy but the more work you put in at the start the more you will be able to gauge if it's right for your loved one.
Second step:-
Will your loved one be happy there? Is there plenty for them to do? Are they able to get out and about? What activities do the home provide during the day? How often do the activities take place? Is it all a big con! Call in during activity times to see what is happening.
Third step:-
Make your decision.
NB It's not easy making the right decision. The home we chose for mum was small - the staff wonderful but we still kept them on their toes. Mum was the most important sum in the equation. If we didn't like something we brought it to the attention of the Home Manager and staff. They were all very hard working and did their best but there was never enough staff to ratio of residents. This unfortunately is a widespread problem. We didn't have a set time for visiting mum. We called in to see her at all times of the day and night and NEVER missed a day. The Care Home staff didn't know when we'd pop in or how long we'd stay. We also telephoned to speak to mum. Staff were aware of our high standards with regards to mum's care and knew we would be questioning anything we were unhappy with or didn't like. We did this in a friendly, diplomatic but firm way. Mum was very thankful for the care the staff gave her and always thanked them as we did. We always made sure we talked to all the staff and thanked them all appropriately for what they were doing in what is a difficult situation for all. The staff at times were hard pressed to deal with everybody but we made sure they considered and dealt with mum regardless of their workload. IT WORKED.
There is some very useful information on this blog which may prove of help.
