When to Consider a Care Home for a Person Living with Dementia
If you or a person you know or are caring for has recently been diagnosed in the early stages of dementia, it may be a challenging time for all involved. At Oakland Care we would like to reassure you that you are in competent caring hands – if you think you need the extra support and need to take the next step of moving a person into a care home.
When should someone with dementia go into a care home?
When you start to notice the signs of dementia in a person, it can be worrying. Initially, family and friends may join together to support the person diagnosed and those caring for them, but this support may reduce as the person’s condition progresses. Sometimes the person themselves may decide they need further help. Sometimes those caring for them may have to make that decision for them.
If the person living with dementia is unable to decide for themselves, and you have Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare, you are able to make the decision on the person’s behalf as long as it is in their best interests.
The care required for the person living with dementia may often become very challenging for a family or friend to manage at home. As the condition deteriorates the person will require 24-hour care which is where care homes will be able to assist.
A move to a care home should not be viewed as “letting somebody down”, but viewed as providing optimal care for the person living with dementia. It also allows family and friends to spend quality time with the person socialising and not having to think about personal care, housework, cooking et al.
This is why Oakland Care provides care homes with appropriately trained care and hospitality team members who are able to look after those elements thus allowing family and friends that quality time.
Do people living with dementia have to pay care home fees?
People living with dementia still have to pay care home fees. However, they may be entitled to support from their local authority after a financial assessment. Once you have a written diagnosis from your GP it may be worth speaking to your them and the local authority about this.
Oakland Care Homes each have a Customer Relations Manager who may also be able to assist with advice on this process.
Choosing a care home for a person living with dementia
All Oakland Care Homes are able to care for most people living with dementia. However, the homes will assess the person first to make sure that the home is able to provide appropriate care required for that person. Care provided is always person centred therefore it is important for the person and the care team to be sure the required care can be accommodated.
Dementia is a condition which has the capacity to change in presentation, sometimes dramatically, and there may be occasions when a home will not be able to care for the person in these situations. In these situations, more specialist environments would have to be considered and this may happen after the person has come into the home.
It should be noted that having to move to a specialist environment is not a common occurrence but for transparency people have to be aware that it may occur.
Oakland Care also offers what we call respite care. This is when a person comes to stay in one of our homes for a short period of time to see if they are comfortable with the home and all that it offers. This is often very useful in assisting with the decision to come into a care home full time or to just to allow family and friends who are currently providing care, a holiday period.
If you have any questions about moving your loved one into an Oakland care home for short-term respite, residential or nursing care, we’re here to answer your questions on 0300 303 5445. Alternatively, complete our online contact form and we’ll get in touch.