Finding an EMI care home in Sussex

[hockeywidow]

Hi all.

I'm new here. My Mum has sub-cortical vascular dementia and is 'severe'. She is just about mobile but I don't think that will be for much longer - she couldn't even work out how to get out of the car today. The care home she's been in since October has now said that they can't cope with her any more and that I need to find somewhere else. Its like a needle in a haystack! Mum has her own home but its not a mansion and the proceeds will probably only last, say three years so she might outlast it. I need to find somewhere that will work for her, which isnt ridiculously expensive, which she won't be kicked out of when the money runs out, which is caring and where I feel comfortable visiting with my boys who are 2 and 5. I thought I'd found somewhere but they only have a room without a bathroom and her current home insist she needs her own. So its back to the drawing board. To be fair, there are a few which seem lovely (although most are expensive) but how do you know?
Anyone got any top tips as to what to look for/what to ask? and can anyone give me their experiences of care homes in Sussex (good or bad) so I have a feel for what might be available? [I know that has to be via private messaging]. I don't mind travelling a bit if it's right.

 

[Feline]

Hi all.

I'm new here. My Mum has sub-cortical vascular dementia and is 'severe'. She is just about mobile but I don't think that will be for much longer - she couldn't even work out how to get out of the car today. The care home she's been in since October has now said that they can't cope with her any more and that I need to find somewhere else. Its like a needle in a haystack! Mum has her own home but its not a mansion and the proceeds will probably only last, say three years so she might outlast it. I need to find somewhere that will work for her, which isnt ridiculously expensive, which she won't be kicked out of when the money runs out, which is caring and where I feel comfortable visiting with my boys who are 2 and 5. I thought I'd found somewhere but they only have a room without a bathroom and her current home insist she needs her own. So its back to the drawing board. To be fair, there are a few which seem lovely (although most are expensive) but how do you know?
Anyone got any top tips as to what to look for/what to ask? and can anyone give me their experiences of care homes in Sussex (good or bad) so I have a feel for what might be available? [I know that has to be via private messaging]. I don't mind travelling a bit if it's right.

Hi,
Do you have an organization in Sussex that could give you a list of homes or a community mental health nurse that would know and maybe help steer you in the right direction. Social services should have a list of homes, then you can check if you've heard of them before, sorry can't be more help.

 

[Fred Flintstone]

I'd like to answer but am sleep deprived.

 

[Fred Flintstone]

East Kent Adult Social Services will probably have a list, but I'm slightly neurotic about Social Services - particularly as a long-term reader of Christopher Booker's column in the Sunday Telegraph. In your place I'd be inclined to ask an uninvolved friend to obtain a copy of the list.

A hospital with elderly patients might have such a list.

The Care Quality Commission's website gives a lot of details about the places it has inspected.

Now it's acknowledged that carers can suffer stresses and strains, some counties have organizations to support carers. Thee is one for East Sussex: Care for the Carers. Highlight House, St. Leonards Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3UH. They have a website:

http://cftc.org.uk/

I strongly recommend you get in touch with them if you haven't already. There is no substitute for local knowledge, and they may well be able to advise. There is probably a support group near to you, and other carers may know the local situation inside out.

 

[Lois123]

Emi home in sussex

Hi all.

I'm new here. My Mum has sub-cortical vascular dementia and is 'severe'. She is just about mobile but I don't think that will be for much longer - she couldn't even work out how to get out of the car today. The care home she's been in since October has now said that they can't cope with her any more and that I need to find somewhere else. Its like a needle in a haystack! Mum has her own home but its not a mansion and the proceeds will probably only last, say three years so she might outlast it. I need to find somewhere that will work for her, which isnt ridiculously expensive, which she won't be kicked out of when the money runs out, which is caring and where I feel comfortable visiting with my boys who are 2 and 5. I thought I'd found somewhere but they only have a room without a bathroom and her current home insist she needs her own. So its back to the drawing board. To be fair, there are a few which seem lovely (although most are expensive) but how do you know?
Anyone got any top tips as to what to look for/what to ask? and can anyone give me their experiences of care homes in Sussex (good or bad) so I have a feel for what might be available? [I know that has to be via private messaging]. I don't mind travelling a bit if it's right.

My husband is in an EMI HOME IN Shoreham Sussex. All rooms are on suite, plenty of care staff and nurses, good food, very clean, well decorated, daily activities, Takes 60 patients but is divided into six wings so small lounges and dining rooms, he has been there for a month and as yet I cannot fault it, even though I visit everyday at different times. Hope this helps.

 

[SugarRay]

Have a look in Bexhill - I feel the town may be awash with them, and not too far from Lewes. SR.

 

[DeborahBlythe]

Sussex is a big county. Is it East or West Sussex you need?

Go and visit as many as you can, and speak to any visiting relatives if you can find them. Plus chwck the CQC website, as mentioned above. I looked at a number of homes in Sussex for my mum but it was quite a while ago. Slightly relieved that one of the homes which turned my mother down did so. They were all over the local paper recently, following a CQC inspection, for 'inadequate care'.

You could also google the names of a few potential places just to satisfy yourself that they haven't recently been found wanting on some front or other. I know the press dont always get things right, but you dont want to choose somewhere then find they are on the brink of closure, or have some mega investigation going on.

Also, you could ask your local Social Services to do a community care assessment of your mothers needs, even if she is at present a self-funder. Then ask SS for a list of the homes they would use for a person with your mother's level of need. Then you will at least know which homes have been ruled out on grounds of expense by Social Services, against the day when your mother's funds run out.