Our Specialist Dementia Care

Dementia care is a condition, which can be distressing and demanding for all involved, not least of all, the resident. We promote an understanding of the uniqueness of each resident. We provide an emphatic response to the wide range of behaviour and symptoms associated with the condition.

This includes providing the opportunity to negotiate a shared approach to care, with the resident and family members in the form of care reviews and meetings.

Person Centred Care

We use a person centred approach where we collect knowledge of the residents including their lifestyle, individual needs, and preferences. This approach is used to provide details of activities that meet the resident’s individual needs. We feel that this approach to care will empower the resident and maintain control over his or her own lives as much as possible.

We feel that the person centred approach is crucial and both effective key working and care planning are promoted to provide a positive form of care for people with Dementia.

Every resident has the right to take risks, but these should be informed risks. Whist promoting the individual rights to independence, choice, and fulfillment risk assessments are undertaken and reviewed regularly.

As part of this approach, we devise care plans which reflect the resident as an individual. Incorporated within the care plan, we have a life history, which provides important information giving the strengths and positive aspects of our resident’s life. We want our carers to have a positive image of our resident in the same way the resident would like to perceive him/herself.

We try to set 2/3 goals for which the resident would like to achieve. This will be based around activities they would like to do more of and improve in.

Bedroom doors have a laminated photo name card to help our residents identify their room.

Person centered care is:

 Acknowledgement of the uniqueness of everyone’s identity.

 Acknowledgement of the rightness of everyone’s life history

 Promotes physical health.

 Appropriates the need of the whole person.

 Understands the individualities of each person’s interests, values, tastes, and abilities.

 Empower the individuals in the expression of their own choice and decisions, dignity and independence.

 Promotes enduring relationships.

 Recognizes a person’s unique occupation training and makes provision for occupation need.

 Understands problem behaviour as attempts to communication, which is related to need

 Attempts to remain in touch with its own feelings and vulnerabilities and transform them into positive resources for care.

Further information about dementia care can be found by visiting the Alzheimer’s website: www.alzheimers.co.uk

Residents Daily Life at Corner Lodge

Corner Lodge intends to meet the needs of the elderly who are deemed to require residential care and Dementia care. We also provide respite care to support the wider community. The Homes’ goal is to take away some of the worries from the resident and the next of kin when performing daily routine. The home shall do its own assessment to ensure the potential resident’s needs can be met.

The Home will provide accommodation, living areas, wholesome food, opportunity for activities, do the laundry, 24-hour care, and where necessary assistance in eating, dressing, sanitary needs, washing, administer medication and other general residential care support. The home will also organise doctor visits, chiropodist, and district nurse visits where necessary. Please speak to the manager if further information is required.

Choice of Home, Admission and Trial Period

We recognise that every prospective resident should have the opportunity to choose a home, which suits his or her needs and abilities. To facilitate that choice and to ensure that our residents know precisely what services we offer, we will do the following.

Each resident will be given a contract specifying terms and conditions and the details of the relationship.

A comprehensive pre-assessment will be carried out by a suitably qualified member of staff. We will ensure that we will only take in residents who we are able to meet their needs.

All new residents even if emergency admissions must be assessed using the Corner Lodge assessment forms to ensure the resident will be suitable for the home. If there are changes in the needs of the resident or the complete information was not attained in the assessment, the home reserves the right to do a full assessment of suitability.

All residents are offered a trial period of one month. However, we can also offer trial days and visits for lunch.

Key worker for each Resident

During your initial admission to Corner Lodge, you will be allocated a keyworker.

Your keyworker is available to support you during your placement at Corner Lodge to answer any relevant questions for you and to help you resolve any problems or difficulties that may develop.

Your keyworker will provide you with a basic introduction to the policies, procedures and practices that are in use at Corner Lodge – this introduction will include emergency evacuation procedures, basic health and safety and the complaints policy.

During the initial three months of your placement at Corner Lodge – your keyworker will help you to develop a series of care plans. These care plans will highlight your individual care needs and requirements, and therefore ensure that you receive the necessary type and level of care at Corner Lodge

Eventually, you and your keyworker will start to develop your own care programme – a plan that will help you develop the necessary skills to achieve your own level of independence.

Your care programme will be individual to you and will cater for your own care needs.

Daily Life, Interests and Activities

Staff provides diligent 24-hour care and will help with dressing, bathing, and other personal care needs, whilst maintaining the dignity and privacy of the resident. Needs are assessed by detailed Care planning with regular reviews.

We aim to provide a lifestyle for residents, which satisfy their social, cultural, religious, and recreational interests and needs.

Corner Lodge organises social activities for the residents. Included within the activities are quizzes, outside entertainers, sherry afternoons, board games, music & movement, arts & crafts, nail care, hand massage, bingo, games, musicians, cards, knitting, manicures, hairdressing, walks and trips.

Entertainment & activities are varied throughout the year and upto date plan will be displayed on the notice board. Alternatively, you can ask the management for information.

Corner Lodge encourages residents to keep up their interests. We do all we can to help residents maintain any hobbies they may have.

The Home will endeavour to ensure that a resident can keep up their religious belief if they so wish. A vicar visits the Corner Lodge monthly and Holy Communion Service takes place in one of the lounges.

We realize that residents like to maintain their appearance, so a hairdresser visits every week, and a chiropodist visits the home monthly.

Residents Views

All staff are instructed to listen to the residents and maintain good relationships with the residents and their next of kin. The managers have daily contact with residents to ensure “all is well”.

We want everything we do in the home to be driven by the needs, abilities and aspirations of our residents, not by what staff and management or any other group would desire. We recognise how easily this focus can slip and we will remain vigilant to ensure that the facilities, resources, policies, activities, and services of the home remain resident led.

We seek the resident’s views regularly and a continuous relationship is maintained with their next of kin.

We have a quality assurance programme, which is linked to the views of the residents and next of kin.

Results of the most recent quality assurance questionnaires can be obtained from the management. All suggestions and areas of weakness identified are taken seriously. The home endeavours to action improvements that are highlighted.

Arrangements for dealing with reviews of the service users plan

We draw expert professional guidelines for the services the home provides.

We produce with each resident (where possible or alternatively with the next of kin) a regular update, and thoroughly implement a service user plan of care, based on the initial and then continuing assessment. This is updated monthly.

We will arrange for appropriate professionals to meet the health care needs of each resident. We will establish and carry out careful procedures for the administration of resident’s medication and organise reviewing the medication when necessary.

Records

Residents are made aware that they may have access to their personal records and that their opinions will be listened to and acted upon in a discreet and effective manner.

Laundry and Ironing

Corner Lodge takes care of the laundry and ironing of clothes and linen. We insist that families label all clothes. The dry cleaning of clothing is the resident’s responsibility. The ironing facilities, washing line and sink in laundry room maybe used by residents on request.

Meals

At Corner Lodge we pride ourselves on the quality of our food, whether it is special diets that some of our residents need for medical reasons, or from their own choice, or the meals was that most residents eat.

Throughout the year we vary our menus to make the most of fresh local produce as it comes into season.

We provide a choice of meals that constitute a wholesome, appealing, and balanced diet in pleasing surroundings and at time convenient to residents. Residents as far as possible may decide for themselves where, when, and with whom they consume food and drink of their choice.

Beverages and snacks are available at any time on request. We are approved by the environmental health authorities of Tendring District Council and are regularly inspected.

Resident Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions of stay at Corner Lodge are set out in the resident’s contract. The contract regularly updated to be in line with the Office of Fair-Trading working paper on residential agreements in a care setting.

The fees cover accommodation, food (including special diet if needed), light, heat, bed linen, room cleaning, personal laundry and all such necessary personal care as would normally be required by a resident of a Residential Care Home (not dry cleaning).

All additional items and services (included but not limited to newspapers and periodicals, telephone calls, televisions, physiotherapy, speech therapy, chiropody, dry cleaning, outings, transport, escorts duties, hairdressing, personal toiletries, etc.) arranged through the Home will be charged to the Resident separately. The resident will receive an invoice at the beginning of each month.

Copy of all policy and procedures to do with the running of the home can be provided.

Medical Services Available

Dental care, optician, and hearing aid reviews can be arranged by a member of staff via the NHS or privately.

Remaining continence in old age is a challenge. Assistance can be provided via the Community Continence Advisor who will prescribe any needed incontinence supplies.

District Nurses visit the home regularly and the GP would make referrals.

Whilst at Corner Lodge the PCT has now a policy whereby registration must be with the local GP, which is Green Elms Surgery in Jaywick.

The home arranges for Hospital or clinic appointments. Your next of kin will be encouraged to accompany you on routine visits.

Respite and Interim Beds

Corner Lodge offers respite and interim care when beds are available. The same level of care and service is provided as if they were a long-term resident.

We recognise that the needs of the residents are varied, and therefore aim to make their stay comfortable and happy.

Residents will be encouraged to be independent.

Security & Fire Precautions

The safety of our residents is of the utmost importance.

Corner Lodge has a formal fire policy, which can be found in the policies file. All staff are advised to read the policy as part of their induction.

The Home is inspected by the regulatory bodies and any advice is undertaken. All fire exits are kept clear and labelled. A provision of suitable fire equipment is kept and checked on inspections. All areas have smoke detectors to sound the alarm.

Weekly fire alarm checks are carried out so that staff is aware of the procedures; we also carry out regular fire drills.

Many residents have sought admission to the home as an escape from elements in their previous living arrangements which threatened their safety or caused them fear. We, therefore, provide an environment and structure of support.

We have a proactive policy in dealing with falls. Every month we fax a list of falls to our PCT so that the Occupational Therapist can decide what action needs to be taken. Falls training is also provided to our senior staff.

We have a robust safeguarding policy and ensure staff training is mandatory is this area. The overview of the safeguarding policy can be seen on the notice board.

Visitors

The Home recognises that visits from friends and relatives are important for the residents well being. Visitors are hence welcomed to the Home and are always treated courteously. There are four lounges and a dining area in which the visitors can sit if they so wish. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy a meal with residents at the home.

Privacy

Charter of Rights

We recognise that in life in a communal setting and the need to accept help with personal tasks are inherently invasive of the resident’s ability to enjoy the pleasure of being alone and undisturbed. We, therefore, strive to retain as much privacy as possible for our service users. A few examples of this are:

• Giving help in intimate situations as discreetly as possible.

• Ensuring the confidentiality of the information, the home holds about residents.

Dignity

Disabilities quickly undermine dignity, so we try to preserve respect for our service user’s intrinsic values in. We:

• Treat each resident as a special and valued individual.

• Help residents to present themselves to others as they wish through their clothes, their personal appearance and their behaviour in public

• Offer a range of activities, which enables each resident to express himself or herself as a unique individual

Independence

We are aware that our service users have given up good deal of their independence in entering a group living situation. We regard it as more important to foster our service users remaining opportunities to think and act without reference to another person in the following ways:

• Maximising the abilities our residents retain for self-care, for independent interaction with others, and for carrying out tasks of daily living unaided.

• Helping residents take reasonable and fully thought-out risks

• Promoting possibilities for residents to establish and retain contacts beyond the home.

• Encouraging residents to have access to and contribute to records of their own care. Including the shared aims of their care.