Dementia refers a disease associated with cognitive decline that usually results from damaged brain cells. In addition to your memory, dementia also influences physical movement, speech, social skills and overall personality.
This can be more than simply forgetting where you placed your keys, or why you entered a room. Dementia can make it hard to carry out simple day-to-day activities such as taking a bath, changing clothes, and even eating and drinking. People with dementia may face many difficulties in life.
Almost 5 million people in the United States have some form of dementia. With the world populations growing rapidly, these numbers are expected to rise. According to stats, 1 out of every 6 women and 1 out of every 10 men are prone to developing dementia by the age of 55 or beyond.
Many people with dementia are moved to care homes once their dementia advances to a certain stage.
In some cases, patients also have other illnesses and disabilities along with dementia symptoms that make it difficult for them to be cared for at home.
However, this can sometimes prove to be the wrong choice. There are situations when dementia patients need to be moved from one care home into another.
Good quality care is very crucial to improving the lives of dementia patients. This entails care that preserves dignity, treats people with respect and promotes independence. This article covers a list of reasons why care centres for dementia patients may not be a very good idea.
1. Not enough care and understanding for dementia patients
Care centres are mostly established for charitable purposes to ease the burden on families. However, in certain cases, some care homes may be built for the sole purpose of making a profit.
In such situations, the right kind of care is rarely delivered. A study by Harvard further illustrates this; researchers followed 323 residents of 22 nursing homes. All had dementia in their final stages. They no longer recognised family members, could speak fewer than six words and were unable to walk and move. During the 18-month study period, more than half of the patients died.
Some experts say that family members would prefer caring for loved ones with dementia themselves if they had a better understanding of dementia as progressive, debilitating illness that ultimately shuts down the body after years of mental deterioration.
2. There are different types of care homes
Care homes are mostly of two kinds, either residential or nursing. The type of home that the person suffering from requires will depend on their general health and care needs.
Families with a loved one with dementia need to study the disease carefully and understand the family member fully, before they take them to care centres.
Since everyone with dementia is different, in certain cases the person suffering from dementia doesn’t even require a care centre. And if such patients are admitted to care centres, they run the risk of advancement in the disease.
For some patients, their main problems are dementia-related, whereas for others with dementia their main problems may be caused by another condition, such as a stroke.
Residential care homes provide personal care help such as washing, dressing and eating. In some residential care homes, specialist staff is present for dementia care.
Nursing homes provide personal care but also have a qualified nurse on duty 24 hours a day.
Hence, not understanding the need of your loved one suffering from dementia and without proper knowledge of what the care centres offer, the life of the person suffering from dementia could be in great danger.
3. Not every care centre provides ‘person-centred’ care
As mentioned earlier, dementia consists of a wide variety of symptoms affecting people differently; hence, there exists no common list of symptoms can be applied to all patients. Due to this very reason, people suffering from dementia require a person-centric approach to caretaking.
Some may be sensitive to certain things while others may not. To counter this issue, a separate care plan is usually devised by specialists to aid the caretaking process.
The care plan summarises how staff can encourage and maintain the unique strengths of the person with dementia while meeting their needs for support.
This plan is reviewed at regular intervals. However, in low-key care centres, this might not always be applicable as every patient is given the same kind of treatment and attention, which could be hazardous to the life of a dementia patient. If the loved ones of people suffering from dementia come across care centres as these as their only option, then it would be advisable not to send them there.
Although in these certain situations, sending the dementia patient to a care centre is a big no. However, there are certain cases when a care home becomes necessary for the patient.
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