Over 65S Advised Not To Leave Care Homes

[bednobs]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56607669
personally, i find the guidance completely unacceptable - people in care homes should be subject to the same guidance as the rest of the population imo
What do you think?

[pixie374]

Well, true, dtc....I should have said they all have to have their own en suites... but sometimes choose to share :-)
But even during the time I worked in them, you used to be allowed common sense and individual decisions- but that changed quite quickly to back-covering. I could give a few examples, that we all knew were unsafe for a certain resident.... but even the courts weren't willing to risk being sued. Such as a lady on end of life care, who kept falling out of bed. It went to court, and the home were still not allowed to raise the bedsides. Restriction of liberty- for someone unable to stand.

[DTCwordfan]

and climb into other beds....and we won't mention the unmentionable word, shall we? Yes, we will - sex!!!

[pixie374]

Not unmentionable:-). They do what they like....

[New Judge]

//They do what they like....//

As indeed they should. After all, they're not prisoners, are they?

[pixie374]

No.

[pixie374]

NJ, the problem there is not with care homes... it's usually with relatives. They sometimes have difficulty with changes, particularly where dementia is concerned.

[DTCwordfan]

So true, pixie!! 100% agree with you.

[Bigbad]

“They don’t share toilets”
Oh yes they do. I’ve visited a care home where several “inmates” (it was such a dump, I couldn’t call the poor souls living there “residents”) used the same bathroom. A hideous ancient room with a pink suite and cracks in the tiles.

In other homes the residents even have to share rooms

Those are council run homes. Not the same as private, of course, but care homes nonetheless.

“A residential home though, is their home- and in spite of others living there, they are free to come and go as they wish.”

Some homes have an ‘open door policy, and some who have folk with dementia don’t. Those without dementia are locked in the same as those with it.
These are private, so the surroundings may be better, but the rules are still the same.

As far as the OP goes, I also find the guidance unacceptable.
Some of these people haven’t seen family for ages, for goodness sake let them spend what time they have, with people they love.

[pixie374]

Bigbad, those are illegal now. Which is why many care homes had to move. For at least 20 years, all residents have had to have their own rooms of a certain size, plus their own bathrooms. You need to report those.

[pixie374]

Also, nobody, with dementia or not, is allowed to be locked in. Which homes are these? As that has never been legal.

[Paigntonian]

I, like others here, think it an appalling way to treat our senior citizens.

[Bigbad]

It was 3 years ago, pixie.
Believe me, I complained long and loud about everything, and nobody gave a toss.
The shared bathroom place had, just a few months before, been given a lousy rating by the Care Quality Commission, and failed miserably in every area.
The place was appalling.

[pixie374]

Some are either making it up, paign, or are a few decades out of date.

[pixie374]

Not appalling, bigbad- illegal. Please give their name, as nobody can be locked in, unless they are arrested or sectioned. And people, other than couples have not been allowed to share rooms for at least 20 years.
Who are they? I'll report them, if you don't want to.

[Cloverjo]

I know this was pre-Covid, but I remember my granny being desperate for a wee. She did get hold of the manageress but the care assistants were nowhere to be seen. So my granny had to cross her legs for quite a while. I would have helped my granny go to the loo, but I didn’t know where it was. Nor did she.

By contrast, my mum’s room in the hospice had an en suite bathroom. You really need that. Please don’t let me get old

[Hopkirk]

65? That's young . You don't even qualify for the state pension.

[Bigbad]

@22.35.
Certainly the dump I mentioned above. Three locks and an intercom when you rang the doorbell.
And when I was trying to find somewhere decent, a lot of the (private) homes told me they didn’t have “an open door” policy if they took in dementia sufferers.
Not every home would take a person with dementia.
I’ve often wondered what happened if a person developed dementia whilst already living there. Would they be kicked out?
Probably. I was also told that it’s not unusual to put someone in one home, reassess them a few weeks later, and move them again.
Just what a frightened, confused, vulnerable person doesn’t need.

[bednobs]

im not sure that's right pixie - i remember my nan being in a shared room 17 ish years ago

[pixie374]

Not quite, bigbad. Once someone has a diagnosis of dementia, they have to go to a dementia unit, no matter how mild they are. Without a diagnosis, they could go to residential, and stay there- unless they need more specialised care.
Nursing overrules everything... so if they are immobile, they might need nursing care (we currently have two, but they have decided to remain at home).
In any case, they won't and can't be locked in. Neither will they be moved- unless absolutely necessary for them.
I'm sorry you have had such awful experiences so far x

[pixie374]

Me too, bednobs. Brussels made it illegal at the time, so about 20 years ago, our care home had to be moved, so all bedrooms and en suites were individual and legal.