Specialist Units in Care Homes for Challenging Care Needs.... I wonder how many nursing homes in the UK are equipped to cope with very challenging care needs? My relative’s needs were very complex - he was exceptionally difficult to manage. I found myself blaming the care home for his mental state - too much medication; not the right kind of therapy; not enough stimulation; lack of understanding of his social background; leaving him alone too much or, conversely speaking, not providing him with enough privacy! And the catalogue goes on and on. I voiced my main concerns very strongly to the management of the first home where he was incarcerated. This home would never have been our choice but I discovered later that agencies involved in his care ticked all the boxes that pointed him to an EMI unit that specialised in managing challenging behaviour’. For the uninitiated, EMI means Elderly Mentally Infirm. The atmosphere in this segregated unit was abnormally tense with evidence of day long stress bouncing between the ‘inmates’ (as we used to call them) and the staff. I didn’t accept that there was no alternative facility in my relatives locality. I didn’t understand that a) there has to be a vacancy and b) the vacancy has to be within a home with very specialist expertise. But here is the really Big Question from me….. would you want your nearest and dearest placed in a unit occupied exclusively by people with very challenging care needs? I feel there needs to be some extremely radical changes in the social care system to make a difference to those unfortunate enough to need full-time ‘specialist care. The CQC can only regulate and shut down care homes. The core problems are more to do with lack of understanding of specialist needs and finding ways to rebalance society within care homes.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:28:52 +0000
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