Nursing Homes Suffolk – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
So, what makes good Nursing Homes?
This should be clear upon entering the home. Is the air fresh; are the surfaces clean? Are the residents, where able, engaged in tailored activities and conversation? Is there a good rapport between staff and residents?
On entering, you may be greeted with a notice board filled with bright posters, written in large, easy-to-read letters that show the weeks’ activities. These residents are being treated with dignity and respect.
Have the staff found out what the residents want and then gone about organising it? This home is surely looking to provide more than just basic survival needs.
Take Nursing Home UK: Here, a resident – a former carpenter and cabinetmaker – has had his own woodworking workshop made (adapted to comply with Health and Safety regulations) in a converted summerhouse.
Efforts such as this show reflection, compassion and foresight. Pleasing residents is always worth it in the end, as they feel valued, empowered, and involved in activities that make their lives interesting. Without a varied and absorbing lifestyle people start to become unhappy, often leading to deteriorating health.
What about bad Care Homes? In August 2007 it was reported by the UK media that one in five care homes is still failing to meet the most basic standards of privacy and treatment.
Welcome to Care Home B: You walk in and smell stale urine. The residents seem bored and vacant. The television is on in the lounge and many residents are slumped in front, not particularly engaged or focused. And why is no one conversing or playing cards? The full volume – arbitrarily catering for those with a hearing loss – is preventing any other communication from taking place.
Next you see that there is no one in the garden. You learn that it is out of bounds because of a lack of staff available for supervision. At lunch, if vegetables are served at all, they come from a tin or the freezer.
The negative aspects of those Care Homes, however, recede into the background when compared to the appalling standards of some Care Homes – which fall into the ugly category.
Here, residents have been found left lying in soiled clothes and suffering malnutrition and dehydration. Evidence of residents having been dragged around by their hair has been documented.
Some have been tied to their beds and chairs, or locked up. Others have been refused food as punishment, denied trips to the toilet or had possessions stolen by staff. Most horrifically of all, however, is the resident who had her fingernails ripped out by a care worker, and another who was found covered in cigarette burns.
Evidently, there is a great degree of variation between the standards of Care Homes. These days, however, thanks to the internet and organisations such as the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), you can make an informed choice, to ensure you find a home that will fulfil your individual needs and enrich your life.
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