Sorry Susan - I led this thread astray !!!
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My Mum now spends all her time either in bed or sat in a chair - she can just about stand with 2 helping and is then taken to loo etc in a wheelchair. It seems one thing leads to another & now due to amount of time sat in a chair (as opposed to lying on an air mattress) & her age which means thin skin, she is at high risk of pressure sores, especially on her bottom. (I hate that word !!!!).
The staff are being great - very attentive & observant & very aware that once skin breaks in a very elderly person, at pressure point , it rarely heals. If that happened to Mum I'd find it unbearable - everything is so awful now and to know that she would be so uncomfortable for no reason other than the length of time she has been sitting !......... shes had to contend with so much ... I just want her to be comfortable - it doesnt seem much to ask . Aaaagghhhh.
Guilt is taking a hold of me now ... should have i realised this was coming and bought Mum a special chair before now... I knew she had been sliding forward a lot - weve cured that by her having a different chair but shes still sore .
I searched for Kirton Ultima , found webiste & ordered, online, their brochure - it aarrived 36 hours later in hte post this morning. i recognise them - they have just bought a few at a nursing home I visit - the relatives pushed for them & the home paid - but it is an up market place. All other HOmes I know say in the contract that any special equipment has to be provided by resident or their family.
This seems odd to me - if air mattresses are beng provided wihtin the fees then why not special chairs. In a nursig home I suggest a lot of residents are high risk for prssure sores ???? Come to think of it in Mums contract it said weekly hire of air mattresses had to be paid for but we have never been invoiced - either an oversight or they have changed system and have bought them now and not updated the contract.
I reckon the market for second hand chairs like these will grow - at the moment care homes are in a win win situation. As relative are forced to buy these chairs as the residents enter end of life stage of illnesses - what happens after person dies? - many relatives are givng them to the Homes - they are very large items of furntiture & who wants to buy an ex N H chair ? We all lose out once again.
That still leavs me in a quandry - I think Mum needs an Assessment to give a recommendation for her physical support needs in detail - may be there are special air cushions to use in an ordinary chair? Also these £1 - £1500 chairs come in all sort of sizes etc I reckon it should take an OT or Physiotherapist to sort it out - its a lot of money - has to be right.
These special chairs are great but I wonder if there are alternatives that would meet some peoples needs just as well ?
Sorry Susan none of this is helping you - I would make sure your Dad has an air mattress on his bed though (did he have one in hospital - it is comon practice now for all post operation patients & anyone who is not moving themselves in bed - they will have a timetable for being turned every few hours too). Do you have a Disability Centre near you? they may be able to help - I must contact ours in Bristol. Good Luck - please post if you have time if you track down a source of second hand chairs. Your nearest Crossroads Centre may know someone wit one for sale too - ours sometimes has wheelchairs & scooters for sale. What part of the country are you in?