Trying to stay on top of it all
- Thread starter elvismad
- Start date
Happy birthday from me also! I know it's hard when it's different from how we want but hope there can be some happiness for you today.
Ok , so mums care home has had a dire CQC report (they visited unannounced in early December) and the overall rating is INADEQUATE!
We are aware that the management structure has completely changed in the last few months (indeed we met with the new manager when we first looked at the home, and she explained that she was bringing in a new head of care and had plans to make improvements) and that a senior member of staff has literally just returned from maternity leave.
The staff are unfailingly caring and kind and mum has settled well. She is not distressed, and no longer askes for me or my brother. She has had a medication review and we are in close contact with the GP to reduce medications where possible. Mum has appointment scheduled for a diabetic review and a lymphedema review, so all good there. there are activities that mum does join in with etc. Mum is assisted to eat at mealtimes and looks well.
I am torn. This is hardly the report we wanted to read, but do we think he worst or hope for the best with the new team in place. Any concerns we have raised (mum had her support stockings for her lymphedema on the wrong legs - they are made to measure) are swiftly acknowledged and acted upon. We are advised of any falls, however minor - mum has had 6 in 4 weeks, the last one on Sunday in the dining room at tea time when she cracked her head on a chair. An ambulance was called but a hospital visit was not necessary. The OT visited yesterday and the GP will again be looking at medications (particularly Risperedone , which we would like removed).
The Local council sent independent social worker carrier out mums DOL on Friday and in view of the CQC report is going to suggest it is approved for only 3 months. He did however say that he had visit the home on several previous occasions and did not find it to be the way it is reflected in the report.
I am concerned that mums local council will want her moved as they would not even have considered this home if they had know of the report beforehand.
My brother and I visit at all different times and I can honestly say I have yet to feel there is any failing that I can see. A great deal of the report relates to admin, but I know incorrect/incomplete records are a real issue as this affects care plans, medication, safety
So worried
We are aware that the management structure has completely changed in the last few months (indeed we met with the new manager when we first looked at the home, and she explained that she was bringing in a new head of care and had plans to make improvements) and that a senior member of staff has literally just returned from maternity leave.
The staff are unfailingly caring and kind and mum has settled well. She is not distressed, and no longer askes for me or my brother. She has had a medication review and we are in close contact with the GP to reduce medications where possible. Mum has appointment scheduled for a diabetic review and a lymphedema review, so all good there. there are activities that mum does join in with etc. Mum is assisted to eat at mealtimes and looks well.
I am torn. This is hardly the report we wanted to read, but do we think he worst or hope for the best with the new team in place. Any concerns we have raised (mum had her support stockings for her lymphedema on the wrong legs - they are made to measure) are swiftly acknowledged and acted upon. We are advised of any falls, however minor - mum has had 6 in 4 weeks, the last one on Sunday in the dining room at tea time when she cracked her head on a chair. An ambulance was called but a hospital visit was not necessary. The OT visited yesterday and the GP will again be looking at medications (particularly Risperedone , which we would like removed).
The Local council sent independent social worker carrier out mums DOL on Friday and in view of the CQC report is going to suggest it is approved for only 3 months. He did however say that he had visit the home on several previous occasions and did not find it to be the way it is reflected in the report.
I am concerned that mums local council will want her moved as they would not even have considered this home if they had know of the report beforehand.
My brother and I visit at all different times and I can honestly say I have yet to feel there is any failing that I can see. A great deal of the report relates to admin, but I know incorrect/incomplete records are a real issue as this affects care plans, medication, safety
So worried
A bit of humour into the mix -the OT that visited mum Monday suggested she use a rollator due to her worsening balance . When I called the care home yesterday, to see how mum was after her latest fall , they said mum had taken to it well and was 'so fast'!
I must admit the image of mum whizzing up and down the corridors brought a smile to my face..
I must admit the image of mum whizzing up and down the corridors brought a smile to my face..
The care home sounds really good to me, to be honest - very much like my mother's care home. I would be guided by my own experience and instincts. Presumably they are now working on the areas which are deemed inadequate and if it's a new team I hope SS would allow them time to put things right.
My mother's CH had a poor safety rating at one inspection about five years ago (inadequate staffing) but they put that right and have since then had a Good rating.
My mother's CH had a poor safety rating at one inspection about five years ago (inadequate staffing) but they put that right and have since then had a Good rating.
Thanks @Sirena
We have got to know staff quite well in the short time mum has been there. They are indeed working to resolve issues identified in the report. There is a residents meeting that my brother will be attending next week (as he is local). I really hope the new management team can turn this around.
We have got to know staff quite well in the short time mum has been there. They are indeed working to resolve issues identified in the report. There is a residents meeting that my brother will be attending next week (as he is local). I really hope the new management team can turn this around.
I used to run a day nursery (actually managed 4 over a period of 23 years) and have some experience of inspection reports albeit at the other end of the scale. I agree with others on here that you should go with your instincts. If your mum wasn't already in the home and you knew nothing about it then of course you would go with the report but it has to be said that sometimes an inspector and a manager can fail to 'bond' and if they get off to a bad start the inspector will dig and dig until he/she finds all sorts of thing they disapprove of. This most often links to admin and paperwork so may have had something to do with what happened here. I would suggest watching what happens carefully and use the report as a guide to see if they are addressing the issues. Don't be afraid of asking questions or checking whether specific improvements have been made. If the management are evasive or hostile to your questions then you'll know there is a problem and you can look for somewhere else. In fact it wouldn't hurt to look for alternatives while you watch and wait then if you do have to move your mum you won't be doing it in a hurry. I'd be surprised if the council move your mum at the moment. Being cynical it would mean an awful lot of paperwork for one thing and as her life doesn't appear to be in danger I'm fairly sure they will wait to see what happens.
I visit mum every week now she is in Poole. Since moving in she has lost 8 kilos , a lot for someone 4ft 8!. They are looking to get her fortified food. When I am there mum eats well with patience and my encouragement. Mum rarely knows me these days. The staff are kind but they always seem shorthanded. I feel so far away from her. I have lost my purpose in life. These visit leave me so sad. I guess I hoped mum would be 'happy' but she simply 'is'. What a dreadful existence
It must be difficult to be so far away from your mum, and seeing her deteriorate. My mother has been in a care for home for a year, she arrived underweight and has lost weight slightly although she still (intermittently) eats.
I think 'happy' is a big ask, but you said in a post last month that your mother is content. If you compare that with the way you described her last summer - anxious, frightened, hating being alone - moving to the care home has improved her life considerably. I agree with you it doesn't seem much of an existence, I think the same when I visit my mother - but our mums are safe and content, and at this stage it is the best we can do for them.
I think 'happy' is a big ask, but you said in a post last month that your mother is content. If you compare that with the way you described her last summer - anxious, frightened, hating being alone - moving to the care home has improved her life considerably. I agree with you it doesn't seem much of an existence, I think the same when I visit my mother - but our mums are safe and content, and at this stage it is the best we can do for them.
I think its normal to be overwhelmed with the loss at times @elvismad - this disease is relentless.
Yes, we want our mums to be happy, safe and cared for, but sometimes 2 out of 3 aint bad!
If shes content, then that is OK and sometimes things being OK is the best we can hope for.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Yes, we want our mums to be happy, safe and cared for, but sometimes 2 out of 3 aint bad!
If shes content, then that is OK and sometimes things being OK is the best we can hope for.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Mothers day visit went as well as expected. Mum really didn't know me but was happy to walk about with me, up and down in her seat every few seconds. No acknowledgement of perfume or card but happy to eat chocolates. I had lunch with her and assisted her to eat and she ate well. There were a lot of relatives visiting so the atmosphere was upbeat. A singer was in the lounge later, something mum would have once enjoyed. She showed no interest whatsoever and wandered away. I advised the staff when I was leaving. I was distraught to received a call from my brother whilst on the train into London. The care staff had rung him to say mum had fallen and basically 'face planted' and broken her nose (Same thing happened to another PWD there a couple of months ago). The paramedics had patched her up and she was 'fine'. How fine can someone be that has just done that? My poor mum - she will have a sore face , 2 black eyes and no idea why. So many falls and still SS will not approve 1 to 1 for mum. The staff are kind but they always seem shorthanded. I have failed her when she most needed me.
You haven't failed her, sadly falls are common, even in well-run homes. 1 to 1 would, I think be very hard to get. When it was advised for my Mum, we would have had to pay. You may be able to get a meeting with care home staff (ideally a community matron or similar to) to discuss her needs, though it sounds as though you may have had that already. My sympathies, the guilt is awful isn't it - though you know it isn't your fault. This horrible disease....
At the SS assessment last week it was brought up but effectively dismissed by the social worker. Sadly we have no means to pay for this ourselves. I am so very sad for mum
No you have not @elvismad. The system has failed your mother and many like her.
So many care homes operate with low staff to resident ratios and because they are businesses rather than services we understand why. The state seems unable to meet the cost of providing care for people with dementia as a service which is why we rely so much on the private sector.
Once mobility starts to go falls are almost inevitable. Both my mother and my husband forgot they needed support and were unable to ask for help so they fell. We were lucky neither of them suffered broken bones and when my husband fell he seemed to slide to the floor. My mother often had carpet burns on her face.
It doesn`t make it acceptable that your mother is falling but you cannot possibly be held responsible.
My husband had 1 to 1 care from me when he was at home but I was still unable to prevent his falls.
I am sorry (but I am afraid not surprised) to hear this. If you have future meetings it may help to have GP to more clinical view. I suspect the SS is thinking of cost and practicalities. I have to say though, even when a 1 to 1 was mooted for my Mum, we all agreed she would hate it - someone standing over her all the time - and it might make her more inclined to to risky things. Fortunately she stopped having falls. You have my sympathy as this is such a hard thing to go through.
Oh what a shame, not a nice memory for mother's day.
As others have said, falls are really common when the PWD becomes frail and has difficulty processing information. My mother has been in a care home just over a year and has had three falls requiring a trip to A&E. She fractured her pelvis, then broke her hip (had a hip replacement op), then cut her head. Because she didn't remember any of these incidents, as soon as she was out of pain she was completely unbothered. For all the falls except the first (which was during the night) there were carers a few yards away, but they can only do so much to prevent falls. I know it's upsetting but you haven't let her down.
As others have said, falls are really common when the PWD becomes frail and has difficulty processing information. My mother has been in a care home just over a year and has had three falls requiring a trip to A&E. She fractured her pelvis, then broke her hip (had a hip replacement op), then cut her head. Because she didn't remember any of these incidents, as soon as she was out of pain she was completely unbothered. For all the falls except the first (which was during the night) there were carers a few yards away, but they can only do so much to prevent falls. I know it's upsetting but you haven't let her down.
Thank you all for your comments. I struggle to accept that I have not let her down. My brother visited this AM and apparently mum tripped as her foot caught a table and scrapped her arm on the way down and nose planted on the carpet in the lounge in full view of carers who were powerless to react in time to prevent it. Her face is very bruised but she did not break any teeth or her glasses - small consolation. Apparently mum has refused her mediation for the last 3 days, something I was not advised of during my visit. My brother will be speaking to the GP to perhaps switch to liquid or crushable tablets that can be hidden in mums food. And so it gos on..........
