What is the Most Suitable Clothing for Your Relative in a Nursing Home? Once the arrangements are made, and plans are underway to move your relative in to a nursing home, your mind can turn to packing. One of the most frequent questions we get at this stage is ‘what are the most suitable clothes for elderly in nursing homes?’ It’s not a question you’ve likely thought about before, so what are the problems, and how are clothing choices affected?

How to Find a Care Home near You in Devon or Somerset When it comes to how to find a care home, the prospect can be daunting. Yet when you find a care home which suits the needs, and desires, of your loved one the relief is huge. You should be able to feel reassured that you’re not ‘making do’ or compromising when it comes to the care that your family member receives. However, most individuals face the question of how to find a care home without any experience, and often not knowing where to turn. This post will help you understand what you need to know to find a care home near you.

Nursing Home or Residential Home – Which is Best? Considering a residential home for your loved one can be a bewildering prospect at best. You’ll be facing a range of options and it’s difficult to know what’s what, and where to start. The biggest of the hurdles you’ll face as you begin to look for a care home, is knowing the difference between a nursing home and a residential home, and, importantly, which is best for your relative.

How to Choose a Nursing Home in Devon Devon is the fourth best place in the UK to retire. That’s a worthy accolade, based on the number of pensioners living here, the access to healthcare, healthy living, pension income, weather, crime rates, and disability-free life expectancy. We’re proud that our county is such a fabulous place to be for your retirement. However, doesn’t this mean that it’s a tall order when it comes to how to choose a nursing home? How do you know how to choose a nursing home, and whereabouts you or your relative should be?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They are responsible for inspecting elderly care homes, and reporting on them including giving them a ‘rating’. This system, as well as providing ‘checks and balances’ for the care of vulnerable individuals in England, also provides those looking at potential homes with some data to understand how ‘good’ a home is. Homes can be rated ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’, or ‘inadequate’. Not all homes have yet been assessed, but the majority have. These reports help us to understand what makes the best care home for the elderly.

Since just last year, dementia is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales. There are over 850,000 individuals in the UK with dementia. This number is rapidly increasing due to our aging population. Indeed, 70% of residents in care homes have either dementia or severe memory problems, so it is essential that we take understanding dementia seriously, and work to create the best support for this condit

When looking at residential care homes for the elderly, you can easily become overwhelmed. Do you know what you’re looking for? Are you comparing like with like? Those are some of the big questions you’ll need answered. Then there are all of the smaller issues that really matter to you: such as will you have a nice view from your window; can your young grandchildren visit; what is the food like?

Eastleigh Care Homes provide specialist dementia care at our Minehead, Raleigh Mead, and East Street homes. At the core of the care given by our dementia care specialists is our belief to see the person as a unique individual. We consider it a pleasure to provide specialist dementia care.

At all of our nursing homes, activities form a central focus. Whether you’re up for a friendly or competitive game of bingo, an opportunity for tea and cake in a shady spot in the garden, or even an outing: there will be an activity to suit. In fact, we pride ourselves on the range of activities on offer to the elderly in our care - with good reason.

Why is Dementia Care Important? Why the right care for patients with dementia is essential for giving them a greater quality of life.  When it comes to caring for people with dementia, we bring a supportive and person-centred approach. We recognise that going down the route of getting help with dementia care can be daunting, bewildering, and fear-inducing for families. We are here to provide the same assurance for caring for people with dementia as we do for all of our residents: providing everything we’d look for ourselves if we, or our loved ones, were looking for help with dementia care. Getting dementia care ‘right’ is important on so many different levels. Caring with dignity and respect allows the affected person to retain as much of who they were as possible, and removing much of the fear for both the individual and their family. With dementia there are, unfortunately, a great number of unknowns. The right care can limit the negative impact of the unpredictability of dementia. Excellent dementia care will focus on engagement, and providing stability and security through the very best support. Putting the Resident First Caring for people with dementia is a vital and rewarding service. Our […]

Who Qualifies for Nursing Home Care?  Understanding elderly care, and what you or your family member needs, is essential to choosing the right nursing home care, and indeed the right home. Nursing home services vary, and you need a clear understanding of what you qualify for.   Different Types of Nursing Home Care There are generally three different types of nursing home care in the UK: residential care; nursing care; and specialised nursing care (such as dementia). If you intend to solely self-fund your care then you can choose whichever level of care you feel is appropriate. If you are seeking financial care support from the state, you will need to identify what nursing home services you qualify for. Some care homes provide more than one type of care. This is the case at Eastleigh.   Do I Qualify? Different people require different levels of care. If you are hoping for financial assistance with your care home fees then you will need to have your needs, and finances, assessed.  Your care needs will be assessed by your local adult Social Services department. To find out about relevant assessments in your area of Devon, use this postcode finder tool. If you […]

When is it Time for a Nursing Home? Putting your loved one in a home is a difficult decision. We look at when and how that decision can be beneficial for your family. The question of when to put an elderly parent in a nursing home is often associated with feelings of guilt, shame, fear, and worry. You won’t be alone if this is one of the most daunting decisions you’ve ever made. Knowing when is the right time to consider moving into a nursing home is a highly individual conundrum, but there are some common elements to consider. Facing Fears Unfortunately, due to shocking news stories, when we first consider the future of our loved ones and organising moving into a nursing home, we can trigger more questions than we solve. We worry about what the home will be like; will they be cared for as you would like them to be; will they be happy? These fears are normal, but allaying them will be your first step towards facing the actual question of when to put an elderly parent in a nursing home. Fears of this nature can quickly be alleviated by visiting, and learning about, nursing homes […]