things are changing fast

[bert]

hi there! i havent posted for a few months but have been very busy at home. my dad has been in an assessment unit since early january, as things went out of control at home. he went missing about 4 times, on one night in the new year he left the house after i went to bed around 11 pm and fortunately a nice chap found him about a mile from the house and returned him home.

after 3 weeks the assessment unit suggested a residential home so we arranged a 1 day visit to a nice home not far from where i live. it didnt work out. hes now been re-assessed as requiring emi nursing home care as he has hit a couple of staff. ive got a social worker who i can liase with but i dont know much about emi. i'll find out more next week. ive been told theres not many of these homes around but we live in birmingham so theres bound to be a few. just wondering if anyone knows what these homes are like ?

thanks

bert

 

[Grannie G]

Hello Bert

An EMI home is for the Elderly Mentally Infirm and is secure, with combination locks on all exterior doors to prevent wandering.

They have a higher ration of staff to enable more one to one care.

Hopefully your father will be safer there and receive more attention.

 

[WelshJeannie]

Hi Bert

My dad has been in an EMI Residential home for about 3 weeks. Before this he was held in hospital after incidents which happened over Christmas.

I looked at several homes. They differed enormously. Some were absolutely awful and I would have been very upset to leave my dad in them. Places are like gold dust in our area but I managed to find a nice clean homely one which I am happy with. I suppose what I'm saying is be prepared to look at a number of places. I also asked lots of questions about food, activities, etc.

I notified SS of the homes (they asked me to identify 3) that I had chosen. One of the care manager's at the home visited my dad to assess him and when she agreed to take him, he visited the home for a few hours.

As Granny G said my dad is in a locked unit so at least he's safe from wandering but he absolutely hates it that he has lost his freedom. He says he's been locked up and he hasn't done anything wrong.

 

[Skye]

Hi Bert

My husband John is in an EMI unit, part of a larger care home. As others have said, the advantages are security, and a higher staff ratio.

John doesn't need EMI now, as he is past that, but I don't want to risk upsetting him by moving him, and they are happy for him to stay.

The unit is divided into two sections, one for the more active, with challenging behaviour, and one for the frail. It was originally all one, but SS insisted they split it, to protect the frail.

The rooms are the same as in the main part of the home, and the food is the same. The residents tend to get one-to-one sessions with the activities co-ordinator, where there are more group activities in the residential section. And it helps greatly having more staff.

There is always a mental health registered nurse on duty, with one carer to every 4 residents.

I hope this reassures you a bit. Have a look at as many as you can. There are many good ones about -- and a few not so good. Make sure you find one that you are happy with, and can get on with the staff.

Good luck,

 

[Clive]

Hi Bert
My mum is staying at an EMI Residential Home. It is very nice.

Don’t be concerned about the name. Many Care Homes that were called EMI now classify themselves as Dementia Care Homes so look for both names.

There are good Dementia (or EMI) and there are bad ones. Just like standard “old age only Care Homes” it all depends on the management.

The EMI (or Dementia) Homes have more staff to residents, and the staff are specially trained to look after dementia patients, so it is a win win situation.

The door (and garden gate) has a lock to prevent wondering onto the local road. The one at mum’s Home has a simple PIN number so visitors can get in and out without disturbing the staff.

You will probably know that there is a “Commission for Social Care Inspection” who grade each Care Home in the country.

You can find your local homes on their web site, and read what their grade is and what the inspector found to be concerned about.

If you need the web address it is as follows:

http://www.csci.org.uk

Best of Luck.

Clive