Any advice please dad lives in a lovely care home I chose his room with lots to look at and I pay a top up for it. Dad has had a few accident in his room not so much accidents as he always knows when he needs the toilet just occasionally he forgets where the bathroom is and urinates in a certain place on the carpet so his carpet gets cleaned. Most of the times it smells fine The new manager has made comments to me that when she gets out of the lift she can smell dads room this I find very unkind as he lives on a dementia floor and other residents have accident they can't help it. She has said she wants to have laminate flooring put in his room I told her I wasn't happy and worry that he might slip he sometimes walks about in his socks she asked me to think about it but I found out she had dads room measured for the flooring I have tried to speak to her about this but she's on a rest break or in the phone or has someone in the office with her but she never comes up to dads to catch me for a chat she has now passed it to the staff that she has waited 2 weeks for me to speak to her so she is giving me an ultimatum the flooring or she is moving him to another room I have only found this out today. I feel it is so unkind to even think about moving dad as he knows his room when he walks about he knows just where to come back to he calls it his house to move him would just upset and confuse him I am so upset over this sorry for the long post.
Moving dad to a different room
- Thread starter Peppie
- Start date
TBH, @Peppie I think that having laminate flooring is sensible as it is so much easier to keep clean and hygienic. Carpets always seem to retain that whiff of pee, however much you clean them.
You can get laminate flooring which is non slippy (I have it in our bathroom) and mum had laminate flooring in her care home room. I suspect that you are upset because it has shone a spotlight onto your dads problems. Having the flooring changed would be better than moving your dad to another room.
You can get laminate flooring which is non slippy (I have it in our bathroom) and mum had laminate flooring in her care home room. I suspect that you are upset because it has shone a spotlight onto your dads problems. Having the flooring changed would be better than moving your dad to another room.
I agree with @canary - laminate flooring is much more hygienic and I don't think a care home would be allowed to install anything other than the non-slip variety, which is very effective.
In some ways I wish my Mum's room had hard flooring, it would make the frequent clean ups quicker and easier for all concerned.
It would be a great shame for your Dad to have to move rooms, but I moved Mum to a different floor and different room location last year. There was an initial confusion, but in a couple of days she soon settled.
Hope you get it sorted.
In some ways I wish my Mum's room had hard flooring, it would make the frequent clean ups quicker and easier for all concerned.
It would be a great shame for your Dad to have to move rooms, but I moved Mum to a different floor and different room location last year. There was an initial confusion, but in a couple of days she soon settled.
Hope you get it sorted.
would it help if he had non-slip socks....the sort with rubber bumps on the bottom? If you can get that rubberized paint in the little bottle (used to be in craft shops/sewing shops years ago to decorate tshirts etc....not sure if it's still sold in UK) you could use it on his current socks.
My husband’s floor in his nursing home was vinyl and was non slip and warm to walk on. The whole of the nursing home was floored in vinyl, the public areas done in a wood effect. There was never a smell in the four years he was there.
There were lots of times when drinks got spilled, food landed on the floor etc and cleaning up took seconds and no need for any other cleaning to be done. The only downside was the flooring in the kitchen/diner had like a tweedy pattern and for the first few weeks he was there he stamped about a bit, convinced it was covered in ants and it was his mission to destroy every last one of them. The staff would join in from time to time helping him. I even did it myself.
There were lots of times when drinks got spilled, food landed on the floor etc and cleaning up took seconds and no need for any other cleaning to be done. The only downside was the flooring in the kitchen/diner had like a tweedy pattern and for the first few weeks he was there he stamped about a bit, convinced it was covered in ants and it was his mission to destroy every last one of them. The staff would join in from time to time helping him. I even did it myself.
Dad's NH bedroom floor had carpet although some rooms had lino and when he entered and maintained the stage of peeing here there and everywhere I too was on the end of comments from the manager to the stage of dad almost given notice because of it but I politely but firmly batted the ball back into her court...he has dementia...this behaviour is not uncommon although probably the worst he was not the only resident male and female...carpet is not sensible for inappropriately peeing denentia residents...actually felt sorry for the excellent cleaning staff who cleaned dad's carpet (his favourite spots) pretty much every day but the smell invades everywhere eventually. His flooring was changed to non slip lino.He eventually moved inevitably into full incontinence and non awareness so it solved the problem...sadly never have I wished so much for dad to reach that stage as it meant it stopped and with it the manager calmed down. If your dad is moved although it will need adjustment for him in the short term and stafc support ...sadly as he declines he may lose the ability to orienteer himself to his room anyway so in the scheme of things it may not be so vital and may help you with calming the manager. I was always envious of relatives whose resident didn't inappropriately pee and felt I was always on toilet monitor duty during visits ...dad would pee in communal areas as well...but I soon learnt that each resident presents their own challenges and often not obvious. As someone else has said it is upsetting to witness and be told but part of that reaction is that the decline has become apparent and there isn't anything that change that path or solve the peeing problem atm. Try to rationalise it a little and speak calmly with the manager...she/he also has to try to find a solution to minimise the problem so your dad's environment and that of the other residents and staff are as pleasant as possible and if unable to change the flooring of his current room a move to another may be a positive move.
Sadly, the incontinence problem only gets worse, so it's sensible to replace the carpet. Occasional accidents become daily ones and if these happen after the cleaners go home then the steam cleaning has to wait until the next day. Not nice or dignified for your dad to live in a room with a bad smell. We had to pay for the new flooring in MIL's room, so if the manager is paying for it you're lucky. It was professionally fitted by a contractor expert in fitting CH flooring, so we were confident that it would be anti-slip.
Before the new flooring MIL's room was not comfortable for her to use as a private retreat. With a smelly carpet that had to be washed, the staff left the window open to air it out, making the room very cold. With new easy clean flooring the room smelt fresh and was cosy again. We got to choose the colour of flooring (we chose light wood effect, which was better than the dark carpet previously fitted). Perhaps you could choose the flooring colour for your dad's room too?
Before the new flooring MIL's room was not comfortable for her to use as a private retreat. With a smelly carpet that had to be washed, the staff left the window open to air it out, making the room very cold. With new easy clean flooring the room smelt fresh and was cosy again. We got to choose the colour of flooring (we chose light wood effect, which was better than the dark carpet previously fitted). Perhaps you could choose the flooring colour for your dad's room too?
I agree with the others, it's impossible to properly clean a carpet so laminate would be a good idea. I am sure you dad will get used to it, and any risk of slipping can be minimised.
If your dad does have to move I wouldn't worry too much. My mother moved rooms because she became less mobile and needed level access, I thought it would cause her confusion but it didn't at all, she was fine with it.
If your dad does have to move I wouldn't worry too much. My mother moved rooms because she became less mobile and needed level access, I thought it would cause her confusion but it didn't at all, she was fine with it.
I also agree that easy to clean vinyl flooring would be a positive thing. My dad used to wee on his carpet when he lived at home and no amount of cleaning ( I bought a carpet washer which does an excellent job ) would remove the smell of urine once it had dried in. Lessen it,yes, but not completely remove it.
Once dad moved into a carehome for assessment I replaced all his carpets with more suitable flooring as I was spending hours on a daily basis cleaning up his accidents.
Anything which makes it easier to care for a person with dementia should be viewed as a positive.
Sadly my dad never made it back home.
Once dad moved into a carehome for assessment I replaced all his carpets with more suitable flooring as I was spending hours on a daily basis cleaning up his accidents.
Anything which makes it easier to care for a person with dementia should be viewed as a positive.
Sadly my dad never made it back home.
Thank you all for your replies on my dads problem I really appreciate your thoughts and I feel much better I am going in to see the manager tomorrow and will say to go ahead with the flooring but I want him to stay in his room I know he probably would get used to another room but I can't bear to put any stress on him his room faces the staff station and he loves the fact he can see people pottering about all the time. I am so glad there is this site sometimes you need other peoples perspective on things thank you all.
Glad to hear that you're feeling better about the situation. Bear in mind that it may not be possible to prep and lay the flooring in one day. MIL was moved to an adjacent room for 2 nights but seemed to cope OK with this. She was involved in 'choosing' the new colour (that we had already selected but showed the sample to her and asked if she liked it). The staff were able to jolly her along during the short disruption by reminding her that it was in order to lay the new flooring that she had chosen.
