Through monthly newsletters, the National Dementia Strategy (NDS) Implementation Team is sharing ideas on how the strategy can be implemented, examples of how different homes have implemented the strategy, and resources to support care homes in their own implementation.
Issue 9, January 2011 focuses on supporting families and carers of people with dementia living in care homes. It contains the following articles:
- The Relatives and Residents Association: helping relatives to speak up and speak out by Judy Downey, Chair, Relatives and Residents Association
- Easing the pain of your loved one going into a care home by Pete Watson, Uniting Carers, Dementia UK
- Partners in caring: How care staff and relatives can work together to improve quality of life by Daphne Zackon, Uniting Carers, Dementia UK
- The Friends of the Elderly Admiral Nurse Service by Cheryl Rothschild, RMN Admiral Nurse, Friends of the Elderly
- Partners in caring: How care staff and relatives can work together to improve quality of life by Daphne Zackon, Uniting Carers, Dementia UK
Hi,
thank you very much for your newsletter. It was good to read some of the “good” experiences carers have had with relatives in care homes. In my job I visit care homes and most are very good except for one thing. Someone has to do something about legislation around staff/resident ratio. Care workers who work with people with dementia have a very difficult job when in general the staff/resident ratio is 5:1. Residents are left on their own a great deal of time or aimlessly walking around. I personally think that in a nursing EMI home staff/resident ratio should be a minimum of 2 or 3 residents to 1 carer. Until this is made law we will never be able to give people suffering with this terrible disease the care and attention they need to have a quality of life they all deserve.
Pauline Genge