Hi,
My Dad has multiple myeloma (a cancer) as well as early stage Alzheimers. I'm an only child, live a few hundred miles away and Dad's been on his own for the last two years after Mum died and has refused to consider a move. No other relatives live close, his brother lives further away than I do and his sister lives in the US (she also has Alzheimers and is in a care home).
For a while now (due to his inability to get around the house, remember to eat/drink and remember to take his meds) he's had carers in twice a day to assist. The carers and the care coordination team have been excellent, no complaints there. Recently visits increased to 4 times a day as the cancer returned, his weight dropped, kidneys started to fail and the memory problems got worse, from that point the writing was on the wall.
I visited last weekend, and he didn't look too good. On Wednesday his doctor visited and to my great surprise Dad agreed with the doctor's recommendation that he needed to go into a care home, although I suspect he views this as a temporary measure. The local social services managed to get him into a place the same day.
I'm now going down to see him for a couple of days, to try and gauge his mood, bring him some things from his house that'll hopefully make him feel a little more relaxed and check out the care home to see if it's suitable. And this is where I hope this forum can help.
What do I look for in a good care home? I've taken a look at the CQC report and they rate it as "good" and record improvements over their previous visit. The home is for people aged 65+ with the sort of problems my Dad has. But are there any signs I should look for when visiting?
Many Thanks People
distant-son
My Dad has multiple myeloma (a cancer) as well as early stage Alzheimers. I'm an only child, live a few hundred miles away and Dad's been on his own for the last two years after Mum died and has refused to consider a move. No other relatives live close, his brother lives further away than I do and his sister lives in the US (she also has Alzheimers and is in a care home).
For a while now (due to his inability to get around the house, remember to eat/drink and remember to take his meds) he's had carers in twice a day to assist. The carers and the care coordination team have been excellent, no complaints there. Recently visits increased to 4 times a day as the cancer returned, his weight dropped, kidneys started to fail and the memory problems got worse, from that point the writing was on the wall.
I visited last weekend, and he didn't look too good. On Wednesday his doctor visited and to my great surprise Dad agreed with the doctor's recommendation that he needed to go into a care home, although I suspect he views this as a temporary measure. The local social services managed to get him into a place the same day.
I'm now going down to see him for a couple of days, to try and gauge his mood, bring him some things from his house that'll hopefully make him feel a little more relaxed and check out the care home to see if it's suitable. And this is where I hope this forum can help.
What do I look for in a good care home? I've taken a look at the CQC report and they rate it as "good" and record improvements over their previous visit. The home is for people aged 65+ with the sort of problems my Dad has. But are there any signs I should look for when visiting?
Many Thanks People
distant-son