At Eastlake Care Home staff make sure that all 52 residents have their clothes washed separately. It may seem a trivial thing, but to Linda Grout, the home’s manager, it’s important.
(From the BBC website 29th January 2015)
“It would be much easier to mix them all in together, but I think about what I would like if I was here. It is all about providing personalised care. This is their home after all.”
Her care home – part of the not-for-profit Anchor group – is situated on the outskirts of the Surrey village of Godalming.
The day really begins at 07:30. That is when the care staff arrive and go through what needs to be done. The residents with hospital appointments or other engagements are prioritised.
The residents all have different levels of need. Some have late-stage dementia, some terminal cancer, while others have mobility issues or sight problems. Most are in their 80s and 90s, although the youngest resident is in her mid-60s.
Breakfast is at 09:00 and served in each of the home’s four dining areas.
Some residents sit together. Some sit alone. It all depends on their personal preference.
At some tables, the diners are in deep conversation – just like you would expect in any cafe or restaurant.
But at others there is silence, reflecting the fact that one of the consequences of the ageing population is the degeneration in brain function, leaving people confused and with limited ability to communicate. I hear one resident, when it is explained why the BBC is at the home, ask her fellow resident: “Are we in a care home?”
Read more or watch the whole video here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30919525?platform=hootsuite
