Lois writes: It’s frightening how quickly you can become accustomed to
things that perhaps you shouldn’t get accustomed to. I guess its part of our
survival; we adjust, familiarise ourselves, become desensitised and then begin
to accept our circumstances.
Prior to moving into a Care Home my father-in-law had a
series of agency carers looking after his physical care needs. The first time
the implications of this really hit me was when we were visiting I witnessed
his regular ‘put to bed’ time of 7pm at night - earlier than my 3 and 8 year
old children. Of course I recognise that the over-stretched, under paid carers
have to select someone to go to first - but it still felt so uncomfortable.
This was a man who given the choice would stay up to 10pm before falling asleep
in front of the tv or listening to music. Instead he lay rigid on his back all
night till 8.00 or 9.00 in the morning worrying about accidentally knocking his
catheter. So how is it that I became desensitised so quickly? Is it simply the
powerless we feel in face of the enormity of caring for older infirm people?
I’ve been considering again this sense of frustration and
powerlessness recently whilst working in a Care Home. On the surface this care
home looks very smart, big open plan dining area, even cloth napkins on the
table. The staff are friendly and helpful and interested in our activities
there. But everything is dogged by constant noise. The big open planned dining
hall - two floors of it, echoes with sound-and we aren’t there when the
residents are eating…
We’re used to noise in our venues (and at home I have two
noisy children) but some noises are really intrusive. Every staff member
carries with them a pager, and they are constantly going off, echoing round the
space high pitched ringing. The staff explain to us that they all get
accustomed to the sound, they ignore it after a while, but as a visitor I feel
the noise makes the home feel like a impersonal, posh hotel… not a home. The noise sets my nerve endings on edge, what
effect does this have on an older person, one with a condition such as
dementia?
“Of all the senses, hearing is the one that has the most
significant impact on people with dementia in terms of quality of life. Noise
that is acceptable to care staff may be distressing and disorientating for a
person with dementia.” Social Care
Institute for Excellence. http://www.scie.org.uk/
What’s going on when we can so readily acclimatise ourselves
to an un-healthy environment? When the policies take over the real caring?
Two thirds of older people living in care homes have a form
of dementia, while only 60% of them are staying in accommodation specifically
designed for their needs. This makes it harder for carers to provide good
personal centred care, and provide activities. There are people researching
into this area and suggesting simple changes that can improve our care
environments, such as the wonderful ‘design for dementia’ http://www.hhc.rca.ac.uk/
Contrast this with another Care Home we are working in, it’s
not so smart, and there’s plenty of loud sounds; banging doors, of daily
choirs, but all this brings laughter or a raised eyebrow- this particular home
feels like a home, just one with a very
big family in.
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