I've not posted much on this site but have been very touched by the warmth and support. I hope I'm posting this in the right place.
My mum who suffers from vascular dementia has been in a really lovely residential home for the past two and a half years. However, since August her condition has deteriorated very suddenly. Mum has always wandered but her attempts have now increased to the point where the staff are finding it hard to cope. Mum is 91 but physically she has a level of fitness, agility and speed that is, quite frankly, astonishing.
Yesterday the manager rang me to say that the situation had reached crisis point and, with the darker nights, they were worried about the very serious risk factors involved with regard to her personal safety. So an emergency meeting is being called next week with her social worker.
The manager and staff don't want mum to leave as they are all very fond of her and, in the time she has been there they have become very much an extended family for us both. However, they simply don't have the time to devote the one on one attention that mum needs. Their suggestion is that they put forward a plea for more money to employ an extra one (or two) members of staff solely to look after mum. Frankly, with the current budget cuts in the public sector I can't see this being viable.
The manager did contact mum's consultant with a view to a review and possible adjustment of her medication but, for whatever reason, he has declined to do this.
It now looks as though a return to the secure unit is the only option for the foreseeable future and I am so worried about how such a move will effect mum.
My mum who suffers from vascular dementia has been in a really lovely residential home for the past two and a half years. However, since August her condition has deteriorated very suddenly. Mum has always wandered but her attempts have now increased to the point where the staff are finding it hard to cope. Mum is 91 but physically she has a level of fitness, agility and speed that is, quite frankly, astonishing.
Yesterday the manager rang me to say that the situation had reached crisis point and, with the darker nights, they were worried about the very serious risk factors involved with regard to her personal safety. So an emergency meeting is being called next week with her social worker.
The manager and staff don't want mum to leave as they are all very fond of her and, in the time she has been there they have become very much an extended family for us both. However, they simply don't have the time to devote the one on one attention that mum needs. Their suggestion is that they put forward a plea for more money to employ an extra one (or two) members of staff solely to look after mum. Frankly, with the current budget cuts in the public sector I can't see this being viable.
The manager did contact mum's consultant with a view to a review and possible adjustment of her medication but, for whatever reason, he has declined to do this.
It now looks as though a return to the secure unit is the only option for the foreseeable future and I am so worried about how such a move will effect mum.