As age catches up with our relatives, there comes a time when the family has to gather to decide on the best next move: an attempt to continue living in the home or an outright move to a care home. Each person’s circumstances and abilities will depend, so this is often a fraught time, filled with doubts and second-guessing. But making a swift and smooth move to a care home can be the kindest thing for your dementia-suffering relative in the long run. Let’s take a look at how best to make the move before you check out some Eastleigh care homes for dementia here.
Share the Plans
Even if your relative is deep in the grip of dementia, and you find yourself having to tell them the same things over and over again, do persist with it. While they might completely forget that you have told them about the plans, they might also benefit from a couple of good days and thereby have peace of mind when they are moved from their comfortable and familiar home into a new place.
Visit the Home
Take a few days – separately – to pop into the care home, both alone and with your relative once you have firmly decided that this is the home you are choosing. Not only will you both benefit from some familiarity with the staff and some of the other residents, but you will be able to watch the staff interacting with the residents, and see how much activity and stimulation the residents benefit from. It is important, in the earlier stages of dementia, to take steps to retain and shore up cognitive abilities. Dementia is not curable, but it can be managed and steps taken to minimise and slow its onset. This familiarity with the home: knowing where the dining room is, and understanding the layout of the gardens, for example, can also help your relative to feel at home all the sooner once the move is initiated.
Meet the Staff
Make a point of getting to know the staff members, from the reception staff to nursing staff to the administrators. Seeing a lot of familiar and friendly faces around you is much preferable to being surrounded by strangers, so the more introductions you can make in the run up to the move, the better.
Beyond this, you should also try to understand how the staff operates. Do they use support coordination software to ensure that their services will always be organised and your relative’s care personalised? Are they knowledgeable, proactive, and ready to deal with the difficult side effects of dementia? When the answer to both of these questions is yes, you can be secure in the knowledge that your relative will be well cared for even when you are not present.
Make Their Room a Home
Most care homes will allow for the rooms to be personalised with items dear to their residents. Having their familiar television and armchair, along with other home comforts, can be a great comfort to your relative, especially in the early days after the move when much is unknown and it can all be a little bit scary. Having a comfortable haven to which they can retreat when they want or need to can encourage your relative to try and meet other residents and spend time in the communal areas: having a refuge means that they can put themselves out there a bit.
