Hospital and Home Care
It is natural to feel guilty about leaving someone in professional care. A good home care provider should help you to trust them. You will believe that they can deliver the kind of care that allows you to leave your loved one in safe hands.
When you feel confidence in the home care provider, you can go home and recuperate. But you do not need to stop helping with the care. As a family member, you are needed to help staff with recovering memories and life stories of a loved one.
Once your loved one is in safe home care, it allows you to regenerate your health. You can then come back to provide a familiar face to give good quality time to the individual.
As you plan for your recovery, keep in mind that it can be a gradual process. Recovery typically follows a six-step progression. You should never move on to the next step until you are ready.
How important is Involvement with relatives?
It is crucial that a home care staff get continued involvement from relatives. As former carers, they know the medicines and can help assess the need for further medication.
Medication of loved ones, especially strong medication such as anti psychotics, is reviewed regularly. This is to see if it is still required. All healthcare professionals are involved in these decisions. Making the best interest decision for a person means that carers ensure that they are not medicating where there is not a need to medicate.
Every alternative must be looked to before reverting to a medication including:
- Massage
- Laughter therapy
- Music therapy
What is Person First - Dementia Second?
Person First - Dementia Second is patient centred care that sees them as an individual first. Trained staff can then tailor care to individual patients.
What should you do if you begin to worry about the care that your family member is getting?
The most important thing is to discuss your concerns with the staff. Try to understand if your perception of the problem is correct. Sometimes an outside perception can be distorted. If these discussions are not to your satisfaction then you can take it to a higher level. The senior person in the care organisation or the care provider manager.
If a problem persists, there are external agencies to report it to. These can be found by contacting your local authorities or the Care Quality Commission website.
Recovery at Home
As you plan for your recovery, keep in mind that it can be a gradual process. Recovery typically follows a six-step progression. This can require anywhere from a few weeks to months, depending on the cause of your hospitalization.
As you progress through these steps, you should constantly evaluate your own strength and confidence. You should never move on to the next step until you are ready.
Once you are comfortable with the activities of daily living, you can incorporate chores and other housework into your routine. Try a trip to the grocery store or the pharmacy accompanied by your caregiver. Or join in to prepare a meal together.
Though these steps may seem minor and incremental, they are important touchstones in your path toward a full recovery.