to think my aunt, in a care home, should be allowed more than one shower a week?

[LuluBlakey1]

My aunt is 92 and has been in a care home for 4 weeks for respite care. The fees are £1300 a week. It emerged this morning that residents are only bathed or showered once a week. She washes herself with a flannel and soap every day- no help is available for this.

I asked the question of the 'senior' on duty and was told it is all they can manage and there is a rota. Some residents have alzheimers/dementia and can be difficult and some have medical conditions so must have more baths/showers. In the month she has been there she has never had a bath- not enough time for that and has only had 4 showers.

I was horrified. I thought they must be short staffed but apparently not.

AIBU to think if you are paying £1300 a week for a care home, you should have the choice of a bath or shower every day?

Does she want a shower every day?

Does she need help with washing?

I work with a lot of care homes. Some have 30 residents. You will never have enough staff to offer a bath or shower daily to everyone. She should be offered support to wash if she needs it though everyday

I wouldn't expect every day as lots of people in that age group never bathed/showered daily. But I would expect bath/shower and hair wash 2 or 3 times a week in a care home and a wash at wash hand basin the other days

Yanbu however having worked in a few care homes this is the standard and its not good enough. The bath at a couple of ones I worked at were used for storage! There is never enough staff and that's on purpose because of profits you don't even get time to sit and chat to residents anymore it's all personal care and bed making

I wouldn't be happy with this.
The rule at my mum's care home (fees v similar if not the same) is that they must have one bath or shower a week, but they can have more than this if they wish. I also believe they can have help just to wash as well if they need it.

Not the UK but this is also true of care homes here in the USA. There is no way they can be staffed enough to shower each resident more often. Some residents require total care (multiple diaper changes and cleaning of the area, feeding residents who can't feed themselves, takes a lot of time to help residents dress, changing sheets, etc) and it takes a loooooot of time. Add to it all the medical necessities (medication rounds, physical therapy, assessments) and there is just not enough time in the day. Usually, residents who are more mobile and cognitively 'with it' are given wet wipes/shower wipes to bath areas they can, daily, on their own if they would like.

I agree, care home costs are sky high! But unless the staff-to-patient ratio changes, once a week showering is not unusual but the norm.

A person in a care home can't take a shower anywhere near as quickly as we can. Many, like my mum, will need two carers to shower them due to their disabilities. So it's impossible to shower them every day.
My mum does get an all over flannel wash though (as she can't do it for herself)

It sucks, and I'd hate it. But there simply aren't enough carers around for residents to have the same opportunities as they would have at home. And that £1300 would rise a lot if more carers were available and employed.

Does she want to shower everyday? For lots of people in that generation, a weekly bath or shower, was the norm for them. Not all, but lots. If I was old and tired, just sitting round all day, I wouldn't want a daily shower either.
They should have the choice if they want one everyday though, obviously.

I'd say the determining factor is how often she wants a bath or shower. However, away from that it is actually quite a disgusting notion that not only can they not provide the bare minimum care for which they charge extortionately, their response holds as much weight as a shrug.

Something needs to be done about the care system in this country. It's nothing short of horrendous.

I wouldn’t be happy with this either and neither of my parents would be.

Surely more staff is needed if they can’t keep up with basic hygiene standards ☹️.

Every other day here.

It’s out of order but there won’t be enough staff for a daily shower for all residents. Not if she needs assistance

I used to work in a care home and we bathed/showered them every day but it was private; They were rich rich. Their staff may be at normal levels but will still be a skeleton crew. I left to work in a warehouse and I make almost double.

I've heard enough stories about other homes to genuinely fear getting old sometimes and I am not surprised in the least.

Bath night was a thing even when I was little. My granny was a one for a weekly bath once a week and flannel washes the rest of the time.

Barring inconvenience, a daily bath or shower, especially as the residents aren't physically exerting themselves much, is a lot.

Incontinence not inconvenience!

Slightly different situation, but I knew a lady who spent money having the garage converted into a wet room, thinking that her disabled husbands carers would be able to shower him daily only to find that this would only be done weekly as that was what social services deem adequate

I would imagine it is the same in the carehome

I'm disabled this so have a carer come to my home every morning. Direct payments fund me for 15 minutes per day, supposedly to get me up, give meds, washed, dressed and breakfast. I use my pip to extend the time to an hour 3 times per week so I can get a shower. according to my care plan I don't need to shower.

Used to work in care home now on a ward.

Not possible to bath or shower every patient every day due to various reasons. Those that don't that day will get a full body wash with a basin, with assistance if needed.
Relatives expect us to do this every day when in reality it doesn't even happen at home.

They are more than welcome to come and assist their relation with a bath or shower every day. Very rarely will they.

Isn't wash8ngba metric?

My uncle was in a care home and hardy had any baths or showers as he prefered to strip wash. They did record this so it was probably uncle being awkward.

Spesk to management. That is a lot of money per week.

My friend 88 in a care home may have grown up with a weekly bath but I’m pretty sure that in her own home,three bathrooms for the last 55 years was used to two showers or baths a day until she had to move into the care home. I would want a bath every day ,hate showers as I don’t feel clean. I would prefer a flannel wash.

Just out of curiosity why do you not feel clean after a shower?

Once a week is neglect

Even before my gran went into the care home she only had a bath once or twice week at home. I don’t think it’s neglectful but if she has a problem with it maybe you could raise it on her behalf.

the key thing here is does she want this daily? My mother would have hated being ‘forced’ to have a shower or bath daily at that age, she was quite happy with a good hot soapy wash every day and I did her hair over the kitchen sink on a Wednesday and she had a ‘big shower’ and washed her hair again on a Sunday.

There used to be this person that was a joy to get up every morning! A shower if not, but about half of all my shifts I would make sure to complete all my other tasks (cleaning/breakfast stuff out etc) as quickly as I could to run them a proper bath.

They said when they were little, Sundays were their favourite day of the week because it was bath day. Dad in first, then mum, then in order of siblings and they got to go first and have it all to themselves! Dementia so the same excitement every morning and honestly it made hard nights feel so worth it.