Following a period in hospital an elderly gentleman was discharged into a care home for respite and continued recovery, allowing time to assess his future care needs.

Prior to the hospital admission he had lived at home and been cared for by a family member in a quiet environment with just his family carer and his pet dog.

There was continual change in his life during this time, which did not give him time to adjust to his new environment, where there was lots of hustle and bustle and a complete change to his daily routine. In addition, his family carer was taken ill suddenly and sadly passed away.

Although the room he was allocated was quite small and became easily cluttered with his possessions, there were occasions where he refused to leave his room and struggled to accept the help from the carers, at times shouting at them and becoming quite angry.

Members of the Clarity Care Consulting team had previously visited the gentleman at his home to perform a care assessment so we asked one of the team who had undertaken that assessment to visit the gentleman in the respite home as this enabled them to draw on the experience of that previous visit.

It was quickly apparent that there was a marked change in his appearance, both physically and emotionally. He was very unhappy, did not want to engage with us, stayed in his bed and pretended to be asleep.

The Clarity team searched for a care home that was going to be able to manage the gentleman’s care needs. We had been asked to find one, if possible, close to extended family members, in a particular town if possible. Despite our best efforts there was not a vacancy in any care home available in that town, so we extended the search to other areas that were close to other family members.

We were able to find a vacancy in a small dementia friendly care home. An assessment was carried out by the home, and they were happy for him to move in.

One of our Independent Care Advisors visited the home to see the room they were allocating to our client, but we were not happy with it, as it was too small and did not have an en-suite bathroom, which we felt our client needed. The home identified that a suitable room was likely to become available soon so we worked with both the homes to ensure the move could happen once that room became available.

We visited our client at the new home once he had some time to settle into his new surroundings. He was much happier, relaxed and quite chatty. He told us he likes his new room, appreciates the en-suite and enjoys being able to see the garden and fields in the distance from the window in his new room.

Although he has no longer got his dog, the home has ensured that he has pictures on the walls of his dog.

It was important to ensure that we found a spacious room with an ensuite so that our client had his own space and could move around safely.

 We were disappointed that we were unable to find a care home in the areas that the family had requested. We advised that sometimes it is better to find a home that is appropriate and right for the client so that their needs are met, they are comfortable and settled.

 Our client has settled well into their new surroundings, they are much calmer which has helped with their wellbeing. They are engaging well with staff and now more accepting of the support offered.