Ask a dementia care expert about care homes for dementia - chance to win £150 QUESTION SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

In support of World Alzheimer’s Day, Barchester Healthcare is offering you the chance to ask a leading dementia care expert any questions you may have about care homes for people living with dementia and finding the right home for a loved one.

Caroline Baker, Director of Dementia Care at Barchester, has spent many years working with care services to ensure they are taking a person-centred approach that is based on the latest evidence and research in the field. She also deeply understands the emotional pressures involved in choosing a care home and how hard it can be supporting a friend or relative during this time.

Whether you would like to ask a question about yourself, a loved one, or have more general queries about care homes specialising in dementia care, please post your questions for Caroline before 5th October.

About Caroline Baker:
Caroline Baker is Director of Dementia Care at Barchester Healthcare, and has specialised in dementia for 30 years. She is also a published author and won a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 for her contribution to the sector. Her latest book ‘Visiting the Memory Café and other Dementia Care Activities’, was released in August.

About Barchester Healthcare:
Barchester Healthcare is a major UK care provider committed to delivering high-quality services across its care homes and hospitals. They pride themselves on offering expert dementia care in their specially designed Memory Lane Communities, where staff are trained to celebrate each person’s individuality and support people to continue living with independence, dignity and choice.

So, ask Caroline your questions about care homes for people living with dementia and finding the right home for a loved one by posting them below by the 5th October. We’ll then choose 20 questions for her to answer and post a link to the responses as soon as possible.

All who post a question below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £150 voucher (whether their question is chosen or not).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

What are the best things to look out for when you go and visit homes.

My Mum has Alzheimer's & my sister is full time unpaid carer for her & my Dad who both still live in their lovely home of almost 50 years. If anything ever happened to Dad first Mum would never be able to be left alone at home & my sister couldn't cope on her own. I'm disabled & housebound & live 130 miles away so can't help in any way. It would break our hearts to have to put Mum in a home but that would be the only way forward but we have no idea if there are specialist homes for people suffering from Alzheimer's & other forms of dementia as that would be better for her & it would have to be in the Blackburn area as my sister would want to be there every day.

How would you go about finding a reputable carehome? You read some unsettling things in the papers, i would like to know they would be getting the right kind of care. Also, i'm wondering how the move is handled, it must be a very tricky thing. In terms of their possessions, what would they be able to bring?

What do you think of the idea of preschools being based in care homes?

How can you give someone with dementia a feeling of joy and worth? I feel like despite the best efforts of all in my nans nursing home every day is grim for her.

How can you find a care home which is "right" for someone throughout their dementia journey when their needs are so different when they first need professional care compared to at the end.

Can a person on antiepileptics suffer also dementia ?

What is the best approach to speaking to a relative or a close friend who may be seeing the onset of dementia without it causing difficulties with the relationship?

My mum is 75 and lives alone, she has an active social life, but tends to repeat herself and tell me the same things over and over, I agree, and not in the right places, is this an early sign? If so I would like to help her stay at home, protect her independence, are their diets and foods which can slow down the process, or protect her from dementia getting to her.

Is it legal to install a camera to observe how your relative is being treated?

Are there any homes specifically for younger sufferers for whom staying in an old folks home might be in appropriate?

how do you support family of patients and ensuring they are made to feel part of decisions being made about their loved one care

How can you tell that they are a safe care home (i.e.: when there's no visitors are present)

I would really like to know what in particular should we be looking for when searching for the ideal care home where the dementia will cause personality changes and get worse over time? Never been in this position before.

Is a care home the best place or should they be looked after at home

My father, in his late 80s, has severely impacted memory and ability to understand complex issues through a severe head injury (labelled as dementia) and his condition is deteriorating. My mother is insisting on caring for him (frankly playing at being martyr). He is dirty, uninterested in anyone or any social activities. He wouldnt be happy in a home that offers social activities all the time. I dread a crisis. What emergency places do you offer families and how do you deal with people like my dad who simply want to chop wood and watch football.

I'd like to ask, is there a way that family can have a key worker type person as a point of contact?

My Dad is in a nursing home, and whenever I pass information on it does not always get through. I'm very happy with the home and staff, but there's high staff turnover and often difficulty in speaking to someone who knows my Dad well.

Are there any early signs that are typical of dementia or could they be confused with other conditions?

What sorts of activities could a residential home arrange which might help patients with dementia, do puzzles and games really help?

What treatment is currently available to help with early signs of dementia?

What specialist dementia things should i be looking for in a home? Also have you got any advice about coping with a member of the family with dementia, should you be truthful when they ask questions? Such as what has happened to other family members who had passed away but the person doesn't remember that. Have tried to distract away from the questions but it doesn't seem to work.

A relative from Australia was visiting recently and talked about how adults with disabilities to rely on their parents often struggle as the parents get older and need care themselves, facing things like dementia. She said there are initiatives in Australia to accommodate people with dementia and any dependents they may have together, so they all get the care they need and they aren't divided at a really stressful difficult transition. I wonder if this idea is being tried in this country?

My mum has mild cognitive impairment but this is advancing towards dementia. She lives alone since my dad died from dementia several years ago. I feel that she's struggling to stay at home independently but not yet impaired enough to need residential care offered by traditional care homes. I've heard there are places with stepped care facilities where care is increased in line with someone's needs ie start off like sheltered accommodation but then have increasing nursing input when necessary, to avoid the need for multiple stressful moves. Are more places like this planned as they seem to be very few and far between geographically? The gap between full independent living (even with carers or family visiting) and normal care homes is too much.

My relative has had a few balance and recall problems lately, he is 93, how do we know if it is just aging or if it is dementia, as most of the time our family just put it down to his age, but are we missing something?

I am also keen to hear, as someone whose nan suffered from dementia, if more care homes will develop environments which take a trip down memory lane, i.e. older shops and that sort of set up, as my nan could perfectly recall things from the 30's and 40's and yet not something that happened a short while before, and I remember reading about homes creating 'streets' where everything was set in the 40's and it sort of helped them to feel more positive and less alienated in their mindset.

We've just gone through a family move to a care home due to dementia. It's a lovely, well-run home with fabulous staff and the person in question seems happy (bar the odd dementia-related episode). My problem is that the family (my husband's side) are suffering from terrible feelings of guilt, despite it being the best thing. Is there any way of making them see this?