Care Homes in East London

[elvismad]

HI, does anyone know of any Dementia Care Homes in East London that would take PWD - wandering/mood swings/anxiety/pacing/escape attempts - that they would recommend. I fear mum may be moving in this direction and having looked at one care homes blurb ( they advertise the can support PWD) these type of behaviours would result in mum being placed in the EMI unit.

 

[Grannie G]

I'm really sorry Talking Point discourages care home recommendations @elvismad

It is because everyone has different needs and expectations and staff changes can affect the standard of homes which may not be consistent.

I know from personal experience how difficult it is to research homes when you have full responsibilities for caring. It takes time and time is something carers don't often have.

EMI units are secure to protect the residents. Your mum wanders and tries to escape, just as my mother did and the only answer was a secure EMI unit.

Do you have any family members who can help your search ? Does your mother have day care? Perhaps if she does you could grab a few hours to visit homes.
Look them up on line to see what their CQC reports say and then follow up the ones which you think may be the most suitable.

Its a daunting task I know and very stressful. Sadly its a means to an end.

 

[elvismad]

sorry Grannie G , I was not aware of that. Mum is in assisted living and we have a carer (self funded) that takes her out/to clubs 3 times a week for a couple of hours. She is well cared for at Assisted Living but I fear her behaviours are becoming too much for them so wanted to be prepared (as much as anyone can be). I work full time 7am - 5pm with hour travel each way but pop in on mum a couple of times a week after work (she is halfway between work & home). I usually take her out for 5 hours on Saturdays and Sundays unless its my brothers weekend to visit (he comes up monthly as her lives in Bournemouth). There seem to be so few Care Homes that could support PWD in East London. I will speak to our liaison from The AS to see if they have any suggestions. I did visit one unannounced at 7pm last night (all Good ratings on latest QCC report) and they gave me a limited tour and were very welcoming. I will go back during the day - hopefully at the weekend - to get full tour. Is it usual for ensuite to have no bath /shower?
It just seems so final.

 

[Beate]

You're right, there aren't many, and if you need to narrow it down to nursing homes there are even fewer. I live in East London but I couldn't tell you which ones would accept someone with challenging behaviour. I would advise to look in neighbouring boroughs like Newham, Greenwich and Lewisham as well as some of the homes are surprisingly close to Tower Hamlets.

 

[DollyBird16]

Hi
There is good guidance factsheet on the society website and a checklist on things to consider when lookin. I’m not able to attach the links for some reason, one of the genius tech people will send through I’m sure.
Our local council provided a booklet with all local homes, which is helpful.

 

[DeMartin]

sorry Grannie G , I was not aware of that. Mum is in assisted living and we have a carer (self funded) that takes her out/to clubs 3 times a week for a couple of hours. She is well cared for at Assisted Living but I fear her behaviours are becoming too much for them so wanted to be prepared (as much as anyone can be). I work full time 7am - 5pm with hour travel each way but pop in on mum a couple of times a week after work (she is halfway between work & home). I usually take her out for 5 hours on Saturdays and Sundays unless its my brothers weekend to visit (he comes up monthly as her lives in Bournemouth). There seem to be so few Care Homes that could support PWD in East London. I will speak to our liaison from The AS to see if they have any suggestions. I did visit one unannounced at 7pm last night (all Good ratings on latest QCC report) and they gave me a limited tour and were very welcoming. I will go back during the day - hopefully at the weekend - to get full tour. Is it usual for ensuite to have no bath /shower?
It just seems so final.

An ensuite is a rare commodity, I think it’s more practical to have a large wet room, shower, bath with lift to be used by all residents. A regular shower is pretty small, no room for an assistant.

 

[elvismad]

thank you @Beate and @Dollybird I will cast my net a little wider and make use of the resources you have suggested.
@DeMartin I think mum would really struggle without an ensuite as she toilets frequently and needs assistance as she tends to use her hands in preference to paper........
Also on the shower front, I cant see her walking down a hallway to have a shower.
I have spoken with mums AS liaison and she has calmed me a little as she has confirmed that mums present Assisted Living team are well used to managing PWD at mums stage. I may be making something out of nothing but I will continue to try to identify suitable care homes so at least I know what's out there should the time come.

 

[DeMartin]

thank you @Beate and @Dollybird I will cast my net a little wider and make use of the resources you have suggested.
@DeMartin I think mum would really struggle without an ensuite as she toilets frequently and needs assistance as she tends to use her hands in preference to paper........
Also on the shower front, I cant see her walking down a hallway to have a shower.
I have spoken with mums AS liaison and she has calmed me a little as she has confirmed that mums present Assisted Living team are well used to managing PWD at mums stage. I may be making something out of nothing but I will continue to try to identify suitable care homes so at least I know what's out there should the time come.

By ensuite I mean loo and basin, a shower would only be practical for a self washing person. From both being showered, I broke an arm, and showering OH, he broke fingers, a regular size shower is not terribly practical. Mum has ensuite loo and basin, uses the whirlpool bath, when she agrees, with assistance.

 

[jugglingmum]

Perhaps it is worth having a conversation with the care manager at your mum's assisted living place, when my mum moved in they didn't have overnight care, but things have changed, for the LA funded residents it is much cheaper than a care home, and at a review meeting with mum's SW and my mum's allocated senior the SW stated they do now aim to try and support all the way to end of life where my mum is, which is a big change. My mum is and will for the forseeable future be self funding although not sure if SW fully aware of this. We were increasing my mum's care package which an SW has to sign off - I found them very helpful.

 

[canary]

Is it usual for ensuite to have no bath /shower?

From what I have seen, yes it is usual.
Mum had a loo and basin ensuite, but the baths (with lifting devices if required) and showers, need additional room for carers to assist and would have taken up too much space.

 

[jaymor]

My husband’s en-suite was a wet room. The shower part with fitted seat had two waist high doors that could be pulled around so Carers could reach him but not get too wet. When a shower chair was needed when he became immobile the fixed seat folded to the wall. There was room for two Carers in there. The bathrooms had very large free standing baths with seating.

It was good that his en-suite was a wet room as he was used to turning taps on and his taps were limited flow push down which he had forgotten how to use so he continually fra+turned the pipes as he tried to force the taps to turn. At least he never flooded his bathroom as the water ran across and down the shower outlet. I did ask them to take the taps away but they understood why he was doing it and were fine with repairing them while he was doing it.

 

[elvismad]

Thank you all for your replies. I have looked at another care home locally, in the next borough,again unannounced and found them very welcoming. Residents were in the lounges, families visiting and an abundance of staff. It was clean and had a very nice atmosphere. I was shown a room (shower in ensuite ) and advised of various activities available.
Mum is LA funded so it may be she will remain at the Assisted Living.
I was advised by one of the carers when I visited mum last night of two incidents yesterday. Firstly, mum had left her flat with no clothing on the lower half off her body and secondly she had later exited the building unaccompanied and was brought home by a kindly gentleman.
As I was not made aware of these incidents by the manager, I have emailed them this AM to call me to discuss this loss of dignity and safeguarding issues.
Does the worry ever cease ?

 

[Louise7]

Mum is LA funded so it may be she will remain at the Assisted Living.

There are now some serious safeguarding issues so you will need to make social services aware of these. They have a duty to protect vulnerable individuals and need to assess whether the assisted living is still suitable for your Mum, which it doesn't appear to be. With regards funding, if social services deem that a care home is needed, and your Mum doesn't have the funds to pay for this, then the LA will have to fund this. I know that you have been looking at care homes but you really need to get social services involved. If they consider that a care home is needed then they are responsible for providing at least one suitable placement which meets your Mum's needs and is within the LA budget.

 

[Grannie G]

@elvismad

I hope this link containing advice on finding residential care will help you.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/downloads/download/1003/a_guide_to_selecting_a_care_home

 

[elvismad]

Hi louise7, I spoke with the manager of the Assisted Living yesterday and she advised that she was made aware that mum had left the building on Wednesday and was brought back by an gentleman. She was going to catch me yesterday if I was visiting to let me know. She has advised that they will be raising the incident with SS as a safe guarding issue. I was rather unsettled to be informed that mum leaving her flat in a state of undress is a regular occurrence.
My brother has spoken with mums GP who feels that this is indicative of a progression of her Alzheimers. The GP is arranging for further bloods and will be referring mum to CMHT next week once these are back. We will then be requesting another assessment of mums needs from SS with a view to moving mum to a care home setting.
grannie g - Meanwhile, we continue to look at care homes in the surrounding area.

 

[Kevinl]

If the LA are funding they will set a budget for your mum and unless you or the family are able and willing to pay a top up that may put many homes out of reach financially.
Homes that take the LA rate, especially when it comes to EMI are few and far between.
K

 

[elvismad]

kevinl - Yes I am aware of this requirement. I am facing probable redundancy in 3 months (being the wrong side of 50 I envisage some difficulty securing a new position with any speed), so this is a great concern for me.

 

[elvismad]

OK so mums blood tests came back OK and she has no infection. GP has referred mum to the CMHT. In the meantime the Assisted Living manager had provided 1-1 support for mum on the days the carer we pay for is not there. Everyone is doing their best for mum.
Visited mum tonight and went through some reminiscance cards with her and another resident
-which they both seemed to enjoy.

 

[elvismad]

So we are still waiting for the urgent assessment from the CMHT and mums anxiety is a high as ever. My brother chased the GP surgery and they confirmed they had faxed the request yesterday. He spoke to the CMHT to be advised that they had received the request and would discuss it at the next team meeting, scheduled for Tuesday. My brother advised that mum was in considerable distress and that we really needed them to act more quickly. They agreed to try to schedule a visit tomorrow. I spoke to mums assisted living manager and she had also spoken to the CMHT and was expecting them to call in to see mum tmrw. She was aware that my brother has also called. She had also stressed the urgency as mum had again 'made a beak for it' today but only got as far as the courtyard garden. Still it took them a while to find her. Thankfully she has been to SFTB this afternoon and always enjoys that. Fingers crossed.