Hoped I would never have to ask this, but looks like my Mum may need such a place soon. She lives in Eltham. Any thoughts on our options would be much appreciated.
What are her needs? As that will narrow down suitable places as some are for specific conditions. And dare I ask budget? as they do vary a fair amount.
Richard, make sure you look at the CQC ratings, go to the home and look around. Don't announce that you are going or arrive early if they ask you to turn up at a certain time so that you see the home as it actually is and not what the want you to see.
Is Mum self funding or are Greenwich funding? Know you have an LPA sorted.
My step mum is in Beechcare, South Darenth. It's not too bad (though bizarrely there is a caged parrot) and gets decent ratings. She went there from Eltham after a spell in QEH. May be a bit too far away for you, though, and I know my step sister is having ongoing issues re the funding situation with Greenwich, even though they provided it as an option initially. Happy to give more info on email if helpful.
Think about what size the place is....smaller = homely and intimate but bigger places might have more activities/outings, plus more chance of there being compatible people to pal up with.
BDL's advice is spot-on.
Try and get a feel for staff turnover. .. good homes will have better staff retention.
Not a great scenario, is it? Only crumb of comfort (based on my Mum's place) is that the ladies seem to cope with the environment rather better than the stir-crazy men...
Many thanks all. Great advice. Re funding, as Mum has more than £23k in savings we understand that she will be self funding. Is that right, or is it more nuanced?
It may not come to that. Obviously we would try to see if 24 hour care at home might be sufficient. Mentally she's in good shape. Good enough to drag herself to the referendum and vote for Brexit, dammit :-) But we need to get all ducks in a row.
Just had 7 years visiting first my dad and then my mum in Gallions View care home Thamesmead. It was very good sometimes and poor at others (let it be known you will complain).
Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues.
£23.000 will last about 23 weeks, so get in touch with Greenwich council about funding.
Just had 7 years visiting first my dad and then my mum in Gallions View care home Thamesmead. It was very good sometimes and poor at others (let it be known you will complain).
Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues.
£23.000 will last about 23 weeks, so get in touch with Greenwich council about funding.
That's not true about Fairmount. My great aunt is there and has dementia as do a lot of the residents. Small place that doesn't feel like a home and the staff have been very good.
Broadoak in Sutton at Hone looked after my mother-in-law very well, but again might be too far away. As mentioned above, just turn up and look around as you get a good feel of the place. Good luck, as it is a difficult step to take. For my mother-in-law, she was the happiest I had seen her for years when she went in there, because of the company of other people all the time.
Just had 7 years visiting first my dad and then my mum in Gallions View care home Thamesmead. It was very good sometimes and poor at others (let it be known you will complain).
Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues.
£23.000 will last about 23 weeks, so get in touch with Greenwich council about funding.
That's not true about Fairmount. My great aunt is there and has dementia as do a lot of the residents. Small place that doesn't feel like a home and the staff have been very good.
it is true about Fairmount. We liked the look of the place but they wouldn't take my mum as she had Parkinsons. The OP will have to do some research on the difference between Care, Nursing and Residential homes.
i believe your mum can have aprox £17k in savings but anything above that including property goes to the cost of her care. Its a very painful experience emotionally looking at care costs etc .Im sure u have checked out this but there are alot of services available to assist people staying in their own homes
We had to look into this for my Mum byt unfortunately she died before leaving hospital
Take a look at eac.org.uk. Elderly Accommodation Counsel. It is an independent well resourced charity that has an advice line & search facility that you can search for all care homes in a specific locality. It may help you find a suitable place closer to family.
On picking out some possibles, you can look up on the CQC website for the latest report.
That may help with narrowing the search & checking out some of the recommendations.
BDL's advice on visiting is spot on. A good home will be relaxed & open to family & visitors. Ask what activities & entertainments are available. Is there a dedicated entertainments staff member. How many days do they work.
A good home will fit themselves around the routines of the residents. A poor home will have rigid routines that are inflexible. Good to try & get a picture of that & think of some specific needs that your mum to see if they can accommodate.
Just had 7 years visiting first my dad and then my mum in Gallions View care home Thamesmead. It was very good sometimes and poor at others (let it be known you will complain).
Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues.
£23.000 will last about 23 weeks, so get in touch with Greenwich council about funding.
That's not true about Fairmount. My great aunt is there and has dementia as do a lot of the residents. Small place that doesn't feel like a home and the staff have been very good.
it is true about Fairmount. We liked the look of the place but they wouldn't take my mum as she had Parkinsons. The OP will have to do some research on the difference between Care, Nursing and Residential homes.
Maybe certain issues they turn down but it's not correct to say they won't take anyone with health issues as dementia is one last time I checked. There are also residents there with physical disabilities who need hoists to move from bed to chair to wheelchair etc.
You'll find all homes have the hoists for getting people into the bath/wheelchair etc. At Fairmount a lot of the discussion was about incontinence! The rooms have ensuite bathrooms. At Nursing homes rooms usually don't have a bathroom.
Hoped I would never have to ask this, but looks like my Mum may need such a place soon. She lives in Eltham. Any thoughts on our options would be much appreciated.
A few years ago now as he died some while ago. But my Dad was in Morden College in Blackheath. mordencollege.org.uk/ It's a fantastic place and also a charity and has buildings elsewhere, like in Bromley. My Dad loved it there. The charity was set up hundreds of years ago and is rolling in it. They need a new coach, no problem, they just go out and buy a top-line Mercedes. There is also a full service medical facility on site with hospital style facilities.
There are snags. First, you have to be reasonably fit when you first attend. (But if you subsequently fall ill they look after you.) Second you're supposed to have lived (worked?) in the RBG. Third you're not supposed to have too much money. (But there are ways and means....)
Really, apart from the slight institutional feel to the place, I find it hard to find fault with what they provide. And it's cheap.
Many thanks all. Great advice. Re funding, as Mum has more than £23k in savings we understand that she will be self funding. Is that right, or is it more nuanced?
It may not come to that. Obviously we would try to see if 24 hour care at home might be sufficient. Mentally she's in good shape. Good enough to drag herself to the referendum and vote for Brexit, dammit :-) But we need to get all ducks in a row.
Yes £23,250 unless they qualify through the medical assessment which quite frankly is a joke.
24hr care may be OK for your mum, i'd give that a go first, although not cheap, cheaper than a care home and she may prefer it still being in her own home. Get Greenwich to asses her, at least then she's in the system and on the radar. I think i'm right in saying that financially still if you remain at home it's only money they take into account not property.
Hoped I would never have to ask this, but looks like my Mum may need such a place soon. She lives in Eltham. Any thoughts on our options would be much appreciated.
A few years ago now as he died some while ago. But my Dad was in Morden College in Blackheath. mordencollege.org.uk/ It's a fantastic place and also a charity and has buildings elsewhere, like in Bromley. My Dad loved it there. The charity was set up hundreds of years ago and is rolling in it. They need a new coach, no problem, they just go out and buy a top-line Mercedes. There is also a full service medical facility on site with hospital style facilities.
There are snags. First, you have to be reasonably fit when you first attend. (But if you subsequently fall ill they look after you.) Second you're supposed to have lived (worked?) in the RBG. Third you're not supposed to have too much money. (But there are ways and means....)
Really, apart from the slight institutional feel to the place, I find it hard to find fault with what they provide. And it's cheap.
If Prague is interested in the above, let me know. nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
As BDL suggested the QCC. Check this out: http://www.cqc.org.uk/search/site/eltham greenwich?sort=default&distance=15&mode=html&f[0]=im_field_popular_services:3668 Of course the other thing to do is visit the home, my knowledge is out of date, I had to compile the QCC report for Bexley 4 years ago, and frankly I was not impressed with the standard of most homes in the borough. They were assessed on various criteria, one being the respect they showed the residents. My late father in law visited his wife everyday, before she passed away 10 years ago, we tried to shoulder that burden, and my wife went part time after a few years as he himself started to suffer from Dementia. In the end I became his carer,for the last year, and he lived in the Alms house in Bexley village. He was independent, and refused to go into a 'home', even for a break for us. It got very stressful. Often he just wanted companionship, and to make him a cup of tea. Good luck with your search,
You'll find all homes have the hoists for getting people into the bath/wheelchair etc. At Fairmount a lot of the discussion was about incontinence! The rooms have ensuite bathrooms. At Nursing homes rooms usually don't have a bathroom.
I'm sure they do all have hoists, I just have an issue with the statement "Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues." as it's not as simple as that. Had I read that on here when we were looking for a home for my great aunt it would've seriously put me off even enquiring there.
Sunrise homes are great. Moved my Dad from his home in Eltham to a Sunrise nearer to where both my sister and I live in Surrey. Made non prearranged visits to several homes near us which gives you a good feeling for the place. At one home the residents were in their rooms with Radio 1 blaring in the corridor. No one using the communal areas.
Walked in to Sunrise just after a Saturday lunchtime, a lot of the residents were sitting in a lounge with an entertainer singing the sort of tunes a lot of people over 80 like. Lots of daily activities. Knew instantly that was the place for my Dad and he had a good time there until he passed away with us being able to visit him much more regularly than if he had stayed in the Eltham area. Warning, v.expensive!
Comments
http://www.brighterkind.com/uplands/
Streatham though.
My sister was looking at the Age UK website and two homes in Sidcup were rated as "good", if anyone might have experience with them.
I've spent a large part of the day collecting the ma in law and taking her to and from Lewisham Hospital.
I get in eat my dinner and my mum phones saying she's just had a "funny turn". What a day.
On Cemetery Lane
Fairmount in Mottingham Lane isn't bad, quite a nice setting and relatively small to still feel 'homely'. http://www.fairmount-of-mottingham.co.uk
They currently have a room available, was a few years ago but used to be circa £850-900 a week.
If you need any help or want to chew it over drop me an email RH, went through this two years ago with my father (who also lived-in Eltham).
Is Mum self funding or are Greenwich funding? Know you have an LPA sorted.
All the best.
BDL's advice is spot-on.
Try and get a feel for staff turnover. .. good homes will have better staff retention.
Not a great scenario, is it? Only crumb of comfort (based on my Mum's place) is that the ladies seem to cope with the environment rather better than the stir-crazy men...
It may not come to that. Obviously we would try to see if 24 hour care at home might be sufficient. Mentally she's in good shape. Good enough to drag herself to the referendum and vote for Brexit, dammit :-) But we need to get all ducks in a row.
It was very good sometimes and poor at others (let it be known you will complain).
Fairmount is nice but they won't take anyone with health issues.
£23.000 will last about 23 weeks, so get in touch with Greenwich council about funding.
sunrise-care.co.uk/care-homes/frognal-house/overview.aspx
Have visited a few times and it looks really nice there
Small place that doesn't feel like a home and the staff have been very good.
Good luck, as it is a difficult step to take. For my mother-in-law, she was the happiest I had seen her for years when she went in there, because of the company of other people all the time.
We liked the look of the place but they wouldn't take my mum as she had Parkinsons.
The OP will have to do some research on the difference between Care, Nursing and Residential homes.
We had to look into this for my Mum byt unfortunately she died before leaving hospital
On picking out some possibles, you can look up on the CQC website for the latest report.
That may help with narrowing the search & checking out some of the recommendations.
BDL's advice on visiting is spot on. A good home will be relaxed & open to family & visitors. Ask what activities & entertainments are available. Is there a dedicated entertainments staff member. How many days do they work.
A good home will fit themselves around the routines of the residents. A poor home will have rigid routines that are inflexible. Good to try & get a picture of that & think of some specific needs that your mum to see if they can accommodate.
At Fairmount a lot of the discussion was about incontinence! The rooms have ensuite bathrooms. At Nursing homes rooms usually don't have a bathroom.
It's a fantastic place and also a charity and has buildings elsewhere, like in Bromley. My Dad loved it there. The charity was set up hundreds of years ago and is rolling in it. They need a new coach, no problem, they just go out and buy a top-line Mercedes.
There is also a full service medical facility on site with hospital style facilities.
There are snags. First, you have to be reasonably fit when you first attend. (But if you subsequently fall ill they look after you.) Second you're supposed to have lived (worked?) in the RBG. Third you're not supposed to have too much money. (But there are ways and means....)
Really, apart from the slight institutional feel to the place, I find it hard to find fault with what they provide. And it's cheap.
24hr care may be OK for your mum, i'd give that a go first, although not cheap, cheaper than a care home and she may prefer it still being in her own home. Get Greenwich to asses her, at least then she's in the system and on the radar. I think i'm right in saying that financially still if you remain at home it's only money they take into account not property.
nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Check this out: http://www.cqc.org.uk/search/site/eltham greenwich?sort=default&distance=15&mode=html&f[0]=im_field_popular_services:3668
Of course the other thing to do is visit the home, my knowledge is out of date, I had to compile the QCC report for Bexley 4 years ago, and frankly I was not impressed with the standard of most homes in the borough. They were assessed on various criteria, one being the respect they showed the residents.
My late father in law visited his wife everyday, before she passed away 10 years ago, we tried to shoulder that burden, and my wife went part time after a few years as he himself started to suffer from Dementia. In the end I became his carer,for the last year, and he lived in the Alms house in Bexley village. He was independent, and refused to go into a 'home', even for a break for us. It got very stressful. Often he just wanted companionship, and to make him a cup of tea.
Good luck with your search,
Had I read that on here when we were looking for a home for my great aunt it would've seriously put me off even enquiring there.
Walked in to Sunrise just after a Saturday lunchtime, a lot of the residents were sitting in a lounge with an entertainer singing the sort of tunes a lot of people over 80 like. Lots of daily activities. Knew instantly that was the place for my Dad and he had a good time there until he passed away with us being able to visit him much more regularly than if he had stayed in the Eltham area. Warning, v.expensive!