Margaret W said:
were you really unhappy with the treatment, or is the care reports that you are unhappy with
That's such a good point.
I think care homes vary in the standard of care from home to home - because it is the people who set the standard.
The people are: the management, the care staff, the residents, the relations.
Because change is a constant - staff come and go, residents come and go, relations vary in whether they ever go to the home, and the frequency - any report can only take a snapshot of a particular time. And of course there is another variable there - the person copiling the report may be good, or not so good, competent, not so competent.
Residents make a huge difference to the functioning of a home.
Jan's home supports those people with dementia who are most challenging in their care needs. The manager said to me this week that 'it is the place used when no other home can cope'.
Over the years, the care has been excellent and this has meant that residents have lived longer than they might otherwise have done. The staff have grown to understand the residents' needs.
Last week, after a rare death, a new resident was immediately moved in - space is like gold dust in a place like this.
He has turned the place into a war zone! He is a big man, and is at the continuous walking stage, and always trying to get out. He also doesn't like men, particularly men of about his size. One filipino male carer spends much of his time moving away from wherever this resident is because he is always attacked by him.
This impinges on other residents and their care.
This weekend, the main doors to enter the home were all blocked off with settees, as the maintenance man added more security locks after this new resident managed to break out a few times.
This man also attacks other residents - male ones.
So, looking at the home at present, if I were an inspector, I would say it is not at all good. As a very frequent visitor I would say otherwise - the care staff are making immense efforts to safeguard both the new resident, and the existing ones, and to provide their normal high level of care.
With highly challenging residents like the new one, I see no problems in any medication that works being used to cope with their behaviour, for the good of the other residents and the level of care within the home.
The measure of a home is in the standard of care we see being given to our loved ones. While I contribute to the CSCI report for Jan's home, I don't read it. I regard myself as the inspector, and try to help the home to improve when I spot any chinks in their armour.
Not everyone has the luxury of being able to visit so often, being so close etc. of course.
