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

How do you know for sure, that the care home you prefer has the best facilities for helping clients with dementia. What should we be looking for in a care home?

Some good questions asked here. I cannot think of any that have not been asked above.

My mother has dementia and is living at home on her own, with the support of loyal family and friends who act as unpaid carers. She also has some private carers who come in a couple of times a day. However she does get frightened at night, and was in respite care briefly because of this.

My question - is privately sourced and paid for, overnight care 7 days per week a feasible option? Or would it be better just to look at a care home if the overnight care option was the only way my Mum could stay in her own home?

Where would you go to find a list of care homes (and where they are located) that specialise in dementia?

What are the best things to look for when searching for a care home for someone with dementia?

My Dad has both Alzheimers and Vascular Dementia and is cared for by carers in the home as it is not too far advanced yet and we get some funding and help from the local authority. What kind of funding and help is available for care within a care home setting?

My mother is 72 and has stage 5 Alzheimer's, she lives at home by herself with a private home help, family and neighbour support but there will be a point when she can't care for herself - we've already had a few issues with food & meds. Most homes I've been in over the years (I work in construction and had a fair few years building care homes) even ones with good dementia care seem to be aimed at the generation above hers with memory rooms reflecting on the post war period and my grandparents generation not hers - are things changing to cope with the next generation of those needing care?

How long do people experience symptoms typically before receiving a formal diagnosis?

What advice can you give to help people with dementia who are AWAKE at the wrong time ........................... during the night !!!!!

I have worked in the care industry for nearly 6 years at a couple of different homes... I started when I was 16 and it was so scary I got trained went through a lot of training dementia being the main one I done a training course for 9months through a university and it was the most interesting thing to this day I still find out new stuff and it just amazes me! How would you go about asking the manager or whoever may be in charge when putting someone in a carehome have the staff got all the necessary training involved with dementia Patient without sounding rude and stuck up?

As a manager within a care home i come into contact with individuals with dementia on a daily basis. In terms of supporting and communicating with individuals who have dementia, are there specific techniques which work better for a specfic type of dementia, such as Vascular and/or Lewy bodies? Currently practice seems to provide a "one size fits all" type of support on a daily care providing basis.

How could I find unbiased, independent reviews of care homes?
Is there a trustworthy website available or access to inspection reports etc?

Thank you.

As dementia and Alzheimer's sufferers have a clinical life limiting disease why do you think a care home is better than a nursing home that can provide specialist clinical nursing care?

How do the care homes provide holistic care? I hate the thought of a relative sat in a chair for 12 hours a day until the end.

Just place marking

@Yaracuy my Mum has dementia and is on epilepsy meds for seizures so yes totally possible.

@jacqui5366 there were studies of very low sugar/carb diets which reversed dementia symptoms in all the patients bar one who didn't comply with the diet (it's pretty hardcore!) but the study group was tiny- about 14 I recall.

If you are interested I could try and find the link.

Trying to think of my own questions regarding my Mum 84 who has dementia and is still at home.
Aghhh head in sand.
I guess how does your company support the families of patients and what makes you different to all the other care homes?

My DM has dementia, we are using a mix of live in and respite care as we transition her towards a care home. I have extensive experience of it with another relative too and my sympathies to all here who are trying to support relatives through this awful disease.

Lots of people have asked when is the right time to move someone. In my experience there is never a right time, it's such a hard decision, but there can be a wrong time. Early is not a problem if it's with the consent of the client, but I'm specifically thinking about missing a window of opportunity in which someone can adapt to new surroundings.

Therefore, notwithstanding the fact that everyone is different and assuming there is care in place at home so no immediate external trigger, at what point is it too late to move someone to a care home and hope that they settle, in terms of their ability to communicate, assimilate, learn new routines, make friends etc? What's the impact of leaving too late on the resident?

Whilst there are lots of fantastic questions on here, some answers such as what to look for in a good care home, where to find reviews and lists etc are very readily available through other forums and internet searches and really nothing can substitute visiting as many as possible. Mumsnet Elderly Parents forum is especially supportive, Alzheimers Society also have a good forum on their website too.

Most people find their choice is driven by provision, cost and availability in a specific locality so research is the best approach. I would be grateful for some more in depth insight which is less easy to access.

I think it would also be briefly worth touching on current laws around paying for care homes. They are quite clear in my opinion but widely unknown and misunderstood as was evidenced in the last election. In the whole furore about having to sell your home to pay for care, nobody realised you already have to sell your home to pay for care once you reach an even lower threshold (£23,000) than was proposed (£100,000) unless you have an immediate family member who is permanently resident in the property. The proposed package was therefore better than the current package with the one exception being when an immediate family member continues living in the home for the duration of the period that care is necessary.

It's not unusual for people who have never had to think about care to perceive a great sense of iniquity about having to pay high costs when means are indeed available, and believe there should be ways to circumnavigate these obligations in order that the state pay so assets can be kept within the family. If we could just clear that up please in terms of how the system currently works (and expand on it with other allowances that can be claimed such as AA) that would be helpful. In response to daniel1966 the only ways I am therefore aware of retaining the house and paying fees would be under an equity release scheme, the only way to retain the house and avoid paying fees would be for a family member to be living with her before care is necessary until (and stay there until she passes away) or to pay for the care directly yourselves. You cannot gift assets to avoid fees and then seek a care assessment. You'd also be subject to stamp duty on the transfer of the property title.

In respect of fees, specifically what is the care home industry doing to lobby the government to increase LA funding and therefore reduce fees charged to self funded residents? In your experience what is the typical disparity between the two and how is the industry working to bring them to parity? In my opinion this is the greatest iniquity of all in the care system, that self funded residents pay so much more than LA funded.

Lastly, how are you currently finding staff availability and retention? I'm seeing private in home carer fees going through the roof (pay up 20-30% this year) because of increased demand and decreased supply of care staff, notably since Brexit. Do you see this trend continuing and pushing care fees up even higher?

Good luck to all who are living through these difficult times, whilst I recognise that care provision is a business I'm pleased that it's receiving so much more attention and consideration and hope that we are all able to find the best outcome for our loved ones.

I'd line to know what organisations are out there to support families of people with dementia.

everyone can put on a show.especially for first,intiail visits.how do we know what to look out for?what are lies or putting on a front for us just on this visit?
can we have a checklist of things to check,make sure of,ask as often the mind goes blank behind the emotions at that point.
can we visit when we like.
make her room more like her own so not so anxious?
would you always recommend home care over inpaint
how many visits should we make to a place?
how do we prepare her to make transition easier.
what should the price be?help in funding?
as a daughter what are our right in how she is cared for and our say in the matter?

SO so many questions. My mother ( 85 ) was diagnosed with early stage vascular dementia 2 years ago. It is advancing slowly but surely. At the moment she lives alone reasonably well but cannot cope with money. Any advice about paying bills and daily spending without taking over and taking all of her independence away. Eg, she buys milk and either pays with a £20 or a 5p coin, and never expects change.

I would worry about how my relative was being looked after, as visits are always booked or at set times are you within your rights to make impromptu visits so you can put you mind at ease as to how they are being looked after and treated ?
This is a big worry of mine

How can i ensure that the care home i chose for my relative is suited to their needs, for example. If they have dementia how can i be sure that they are kept safe and are unable to wander off without supervision?

When my Gran had dementia she occasionally became very aggressive and violent which was horrible to see when she'd always been such a lovely, kind and loving Gran.

I was away at Uni at the time my parents found her a care home so I'm not sure how they made the decision at the time but I would like to know what you should look for in a care home and questions you should ask a prospective care home if a relative's dementia makes them prone to physically violence. What are the approaches they should be using etc?

Is there anything we can do in advance to prepare for a possible diagnosis of dementia and the care that will require that will lessen the load for our children?