Poor Dad is now about to start week 7 in hospital! he is waiting for a bed in a local nursing home
A hospital is not the place for an elderly man of 85 with dementia, the ward nor its very sparse staff are not equipped for those with dementia, there is nothing to do, no activities no stimulation, just hospital routine......which of course Dad does not fit in to!
He is frustrated bored confused scared disorientated sad and has lost a lot of weight over the last 6 weeks, has had one fall and a number of incontinence issues. He paces and paces like a tiger in a zoo cage that is too small, he feels confined and has been supervised by security guards because there aren't enough staff to keep an eye on his wanderings and the safety issues they pose.
It is not a life it is an existence. There are no beds available in the three local nursing homes, one of which has had a damming cqc report and I don't want him to go there at all!
What do we do now, wait another week? settle him somewhere miles and miles away from us? Mum is 83......she would like to be able to pop in and visit him more often but he is in a hospital over half an hour away plus parking! and getting through a traffic jam and onto a motorway on the way back all takes its toll on her----if he was placed out of the area she would have a similar journey to visit him and may not manage to go as often as she might want to. They should be spending what "time" they have.......together not travelling up and down a motorway, or being tired out.
As I said there are not enough nursing homes for people with dementia, where caring staff can spend quality time with them day and night. One manager of a local nursing home said he could build another home like that one and still have a waiting list the next day. These are real people.....not statistics, they are people who need proper and carefully planned care.
We are an ageing society, we are living longer......don't we deserve better?
A hospital is not the place for an elderly man of 85 with dementia, the ward nor its very sparse staff are not equipped for those with dementia, there is nothing to do, no activities no stimulation, just hospital routine......which of course Dad does not fit in to!
He is frustrated bored confused scared disorientated sad and has lost a lot of weight over the last 6 weeks, has had one fall and a number of incontinence issues. He paces and paces like a tiger in a zoo cage that is too small, he feels confined and has been supervised by security guards because there aren't enough staff to keep an eye on his wanderings and the safety issues they pose.
It is not a life it is an existence. There are no beds available in the three local nursing homes, one of which has had a damming cqc report and I don't want him to go there at all!
What do we do now, wait another week? settle him somewhere miles and miles away from us? Mum is 83......she would like to be able to pop in and visit him more often but he is in a hospital over half an hour away plus parking! and getting through a traffic jam and onto a motorway on the way back all takes its toll on her----if he was placed out of the area she would have a similar journey to visit him and may not manage to go as often as she might want to. They should be spending what "time" they have.......together not travelling up and down a motorway, or being tired out.
As I said there are not enough nursing homes for people with dementia, where caring staff can spend quality time with them day and night. One manager of a local nursing home said he could build another home like that one and still have a waiting list the next day. These are real people.....not statistics, they are people who need proper and carefully planned care.
We are an ageing society, we are living longer......don't we deserve better?