My husband has been in respite for 4 weeks and on Wednesday moves into another care home full time.
He has Posterior Cortical Atrophy and can walk but once on his feet he can't get himself back into a chair so is in danger of falling. Although now in late stage and maybe because he's only 66 he can still tell me he needs the toilet and was contanant but has been wearing pads in the home. The care home wanted him in his wheelchair because they were worried about him falling.
I find him every morning about 10.15 sitting in the wheelchair up at the same table facing a yellow wall. I don't know how long he has been there, as sometimes he's up at 7.30. I can tell he's had his breakfast because his clothes are covered in porridge every morning. Cameron can no longer feed himself so should be fed by the staff. I have found him soaking wet first thing when I've gone in and after see the staff wipe him with dry wipes and then redress him, I've been keeping a towel and cloth in a drawer and I wash him myself twice first thing and changed him. I brush his teeth about 5 times a week and I have shown the head of the Dementia unit 3 days in a row that he had not been showered but all the boxes on the sheet were ticked. Last week I left before he had lunch because I was meeting my friend and when I went back 3 1/2 hours later I found him in exactly the same place stuck in the wheelchair socks and shoes off and soaking wet, again I washed and changed him.
I had the dentist nd met my friend again today so it was 4 hours between my visits to the home. He was in the dining room, he had opened a few buttons of his shirt and had got his whole shoulder out and it was stuck and he was agitated. Once he recognised my voice he stopped struggling, then I bent down and lifted his slipper, wet, sock, trousers wet. I passed a girl I have made friends with and showed her he was soaked. She followed me to his room with towels and said she would shower him. We stood him up and he was soaked to the waist. After removing his trousers and pants she turned round holding a dry pad and asked me to get the manager. He had obviously wet himself twice but someone had taken him to the toilet removed the wet pad put on a dry one and pulled up the wet clothes and left him. So the shoulder out of the shirt must have been him trying to get himself out of his clothes.
I have complained nicely and kept quiet a lot of the time. It was respite, a few more days I kept telling myself. The care inspectorate were in 2 weeks ago and the manager sacked. The new manager today apologised and she is going to find out who did this. The area manager I had met before at an Alzheimer event was there today and stopped me on the way out and apologised too. I told her that my husband going into care was hard but the worst thing has been the neglect he has suffered in her care home and I said this is coming from someone who is in here twice a day but is happening to the poor souls in here with nobody looking out for them.
Thanks for reading I had to get this off my chest. Carol x
He has Posterior Cortical Atrophy and can walk but once on his feet he can't get himself back into a chair so is in danger of falling. Although now in late stage and maybe because he's only 66 he can still tell me he needs the toilet and was contanant but has been wearing pads in the home. The care home wanted him in his wheelchair because they were worried about him falling.
I find him every morning about 10.15 sitting in the wheelchair up at the same table facing a yellow wall. I don't know how long he has been there, as sometimes he's up at 7.30. I can tell he's had his breakfast because his clothes are covered in porridge every morning. Cameron can no longer feed himself so should be fed by the staff. I have found him soaking wet first thing when I've gone in and after see the staff wipe him with dry wipes and then redress him, I've been keeping a towel and cloth in a drawer and I wash him myself twice first thing and changed him. I brush his teeth about 5 times a week and I have shown the head of the Dementia unit 3 days in a row that he had not been showered but all the boxes on the sheet were ticked. Last week I left before he had lunch because I was meeting my friend and when I went back 3 1/2 hours later I found him in exactly the same place stuck in the wheelchair socks and shoes off and soaking wet, again I washed and changed him.
I had the dentist nd met my friend again today so it was 4 hours between my visits to the home. He was in the dining room, he had opened a few buttons of his shirt and had got his whole shoulder out and it was stuck and he was agitated. Once he recognised my voice he stopped struggling, then I bent down and lifted his slipper, wet, sock, trousers wet. I passed a girl I have made friends with and showed her he was soaked. She followed me to his room with towels and said she would shower him. We stood him up and he was soaked to the waist. After removing his trousers and pants she turned round holding a dry pad and asked me to get the manager. He had obviously wet himself twice but someone had taken him to the toilet removed the wet pad put on a dry one and pulled up the wet clothes and left him. So the shoulder out of the shirt must have been him trying to get himself out of his clothes.
I have complained nicely and kept quiet a lot of the time. It was respite, a few more days I kept telling myself. The care inspectorate were in 2 weeks ago and the manager sacked. The new manager today apologised and she is going to find out who did this. The area manager I had met before at an Alzheimer event was there today and stopped me on the way out and apologised too. I told her that my husband going into care was hard but the worst thing has been the neglect he has suffered in her care home and I said this is coming from someone who is in here twice a day but is happening to the poor souls in here with nobody looking out for them.
Thanks for reading I had to get this off my chest. Carol x
