Dementia is a debilitating condition which impairs cognitive thinking, reasoning, and memory. More common after the age of 65, it can influence the whole brain, often resulting in vision, hearing, smell, and sense of touch changes.
Residential care provides dementia sufferers with 24-hour care when living independently is no longer safe or practical. There are many benefits to residential care, simply check out the list below.
Experts on hand 24/7
Residential care offers fully trained, on-site professionals from nursing to care staff, ensuring residents are in good hands, 24 hours per day. With a comprehensive care plan, designed around the individual, they receive daily assistance where needed and fast help in the case of an emergency.
Dementia-specialist residential care providers offer their staff additional dementia training to help them understand the disease and as a result, provide tailored, empathetic care.
Professional home and lifestyle adaptations
Common and personal areas often have adaptations that help dementia-suffers to navigate, such as coloured light switches or door frames, to increase their visibility. Other purposeful alterations include coloured dinnerware, memory aids on closed doors, and medication control to avoid missed or repeated doses.
These adaptations make living with dementia more manageable and ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents.
Scheduled activities
Residential care homes offer scheduled activities to promote mental and social stimulation within the home. Offered on a one-to-one and group basis, regular activities in residential care have been proven to reduce depression and improve self-esteem.
These range from sports and hobbies, to crafts and talking projects. Staff are educated in which activities are appropriate and achievable for all taking part, allowing dementia sufferers to thrive and enjoy themselves.
Personal safety and quality of life
Dementia can bring many challenges and reduce the quality of life when a sufferer lives independently. Many find that personal hygiene tasks, household errands, remembering locations and medication management are more difficult.
Moreover, these challenges impose a risk to personal safety, which is minimised when residents live in specialised care facilities. Care staff, mobility aids, and research-backed regulation create the ideal environment to thrive with dementia.
Additionally, care homes are offering Covid19 vaccination programs, as a priority. As a vulnerable group, the elderly have been prioritised for protection across the UK, with residential care residents being vaccinated with urgency.
Social interaction
Living in a residential home provides the benefit of regularly socialising with other residents and staff. Continued social interaction (along with exercise) is believed to improve blood flow in the brain and aid the creation of new synapses.
How to find the right residential care…
Finding the best-suited residential care facility will depend on location, budget, level of care, the ability to adapt to further needs, and continuity in staff and care. Find the residential care option that is right for your relative at signature-care-homes.co.uk and access top quality, tailor-made care.
In conclusion…
Residential care is an important living option for dementia sufferers, offering support at the level currently required and progressing as needed, with 24-hour care available. Its benefits include resident safety, lifestyle, social interaction, and healthy choices promotion.