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no.269 • £4.75 incorporating
March 2019
The Number One magazine for the care sector
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Homes forced to turn away obese people By Dominic Musgrave LESS than half of care home staff say they have the bariatric facilities to look after obese residents, with one in 10 (12 per cent) having to turn them away due to lack of resources and equipment, it has been claimed. The figures were sourced from a survey completed by 2,803 care home owners, managers and staff for review website carehome.co.uk Bariatric facilities can include larger, reinforced beds and baths and mechanical lifts and hoists. Sue Learner, editor of carehome. co.uk, said: “The number of obese, older people has been rising in the UK for the last couple of decades and care homes need to ensure they are inclusive and that residents who are severely overweight are treated with dignity. “Some care homes have built bariatric rooms, but more than half are unprepared and have no specialist facilities. This inability to provide care for obese people who often have associated medical needs means they are left stranded at hospital or at home. “The Government needs to be aware that care homes face higher costs if they care for bariatric residents, due to installing special equipment and needing specialist care workers who are trained in moving and handling
obese people. “It is much more expensive caring for morbidly obese people and care homes should receive more funding from the local authority for residents over a certain weight.” Severely obese people are more likely to suffer from complex conditions such as cardiac disease, hypertension, respiratory disease and diabetes. In addition, they often require specialist management of their skin as severely obese people have an increased risk of pressure ulcers, wounds and reduced prognosis for wound healing due to their immobility. Mike Vaughan, owner of Red Rocks Nursing Home in Wirral, Merseyside said: “I think there should be extra funding for providing care to obese patients as this currently requires specialist and expensive equipment or adaptions, without which we would be unable to provide care to this sector. “However, it is also vitally important that we do not institutionalise our equipment and functions to suit this care category alone, which might then make clients who do not require these extra services feel as though they have to put up with a more institutional feel to their care than is absolutely necessary. I am aware this may lead to a two-tier system with all that come with this.”
Sir Martyn Lewis CBE officially opened the new £12 million Foxhunters luxury care owned by Dormy Care Communities in Abergavenny, South Wales, declaring it as “world beating.” The legendary television news presenter, who famously delivered the first bulletin on Princess Diana’s death, said the state-of-the-art home situated on the town’s Westgate development, “sets the standard” for new care homes in the UK. Martyn is pictured with Dormy Care Communities CEO Helen Davies-Parsons.
Resident joins interview panel TOM Ryan, who lives at Hillcroft House in Stowmarket, has been helping the manager undertake a number of job interviews as part of the home’s recruitment programme. Tom, who was originally from Sudbury and has lived at the home since September, asked to help the team by giving a resident’s perspective on life at the home during interviews. Amanda Atkins, manager of Hillcroft House, said: “Tom is the life and soul of the home and we were more than happy to have him join our interview panel. It provides a great new perspective to our interviews, as he is able to questions that are important to residents, and, from a candidate point of view, they really get a feel for the home and the people who live here.
“The interviewees got the opportunity to gain a valuable insight into our home, facilities, staff and life here at Hillcroft House. It proved very successful with our candidates and it was clear that Tom really enjoyed himself too.” As a former painter and decorator, Tom likes to keep busy and joins in all the activities at Hillcroft House, including helping the maintenance team, taking deliveries and also helping with viewings when people come to find out more about the home. Amanda added: “Tom did such a splendid job; he was very professional and took notes. I knew exactly what he wanted to ask and say. We think he might need to become a permanent member of the recruitment and marketing team.”
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