Kathy Lawrence
10 questions to ask before choosing a care home
Written by Rebecca Lenton Our readers’ experiences tell us that some questions are really difficult to ask in front of a parent, but it’s important not to let the answers come as a shock once your parent is settled in. They’re particularly necessary because the answer changes from care home to care home. Can your […]
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How to keep your parent safe and prevent wandering
Wandering can be a common problem as our parents get older and perhaps have mental health challenges to cope with. Dementia is often the cause of wandering in later life which brings its own difficulties in terms of managing your parent’s safety and independence. Whether your parent has developed a tendency to wander away from […]
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What to expect from live-in care for your parent
For most of our parents the thought of leaving their own home for a life in care can be nightmarish. Moving into a care home is often seen as one of life’s grim realities and this association can mean our parents avoid thinking about care possibilities until it’s too late. Rebecca Sibley, from Christies Care […]
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What to expect from your chosen care home
Helping your parent into care can be a difficult decision especially when you don’t know what to ask from your parent’s care provider. Kris Scotting, an expert in nursing and care home management, answers some of your top concerns about the working practices of care homes and what you can expect. A good care home […]
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Retirement living to look forward to
Sara McKee, Founder and Director of Evermore, shares her vision for the future of retirement living in the UK and talks about the importance of independence in later life. We all want the best for our parents. Whether that’s driven by a sense of familial responsibility or just sheer love, it’s something you feel deep […]
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The benefits of care over the phone
John Wilson, Project Director of Link Line London, shares his expertise in the field of telephone support and talks about the benefits of care over the phone. I was active in my local community, and realised there were many older people living on their own, feeling lonely and isolated from their friends and neighbours. There […]
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Tips on making the move into care a little bit easier
Sometimes the move into care is carefully planned. Sometimes it happens in an emergency. We asked Sonia Hamilton-Martin of Worplesdon View Care Home for advice on how to make the process as pain free as possible. Making choices about favoured care/nursing homes before they’re needed, if they’re needed, means that in an emergency everyone knows […]
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Tips on getting the right care at home
Care at home isn’t just about basic tasks. It’s also about preserving our parents’ personal independence for as long as possible. There are a whole range of support services that can help our parents to continue enjoying life in their own home. We asked Paul Westgarth of daily care provider Home Instead Senior Care to […]
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Caring for a dad with dementia, blindness and hearing loss
Written by Rebecca Lenton This week’s storyteller is Jacky. Another urgent call from mum but fortunately this one is less of a crisis than many others. Dad has walked unaided and sat himself in a low chair from which neither he nor mum can move him. When I arrive dad is singing a hymn at […]
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Finding good care for older relatives
This week’s storyteller is Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). At some point we may well need to find carers for our parents in their own homes, or a residential home elsewhere. Andrea talks about her personal experience of care choices for her family and how the SCIE’s new […]
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