Joy Angelthorn describes the support she received from CHS Healthcare when her father was ready to leave Royal Bournemouth Hospital but needed to move into a nursing home
“My father is 87 years old. He was managing well at home on his own, getting around using a zimmer frame, but developed a virus and needed to go into hospital. After three weeks in hospital, the virus was cured and he didn’t need to be in hospital any longer. Everyone recognised, including my father, that he wasn’t strong enough to return to his own home.
The next day, I had a telephone call from an adviser called Rachel from CHS Healthcare. The adviser said she had found four care homes which may be suitable for my father and asked if I would like to view them. Rachel offered to accompany me on the visits and provide transport.
Rachel called me on Thursday and was available to take me the following day, but as the Friday was my birthday, I asked to go on the following Monday. We visited the four different care homes together. It was brilliant having Rachel with me: I had no previous experience of finding care homes, so having a knowledgeable companion was very helpful.
Because my father couldn’t walk, he needed a nursing home, but wanted to avoid nursing homes that are very orientated towards dementia care. Rachel had found four nursing homes in different price ranges which could meet my father’s needs. I chose the fourth because I liked the room we were offered, the facilities and particularly because the staff were very friendly. The location was ideal; four miles away from where I live and easy to get to, which was important as I knew Dad would need to see me frequently.
I chose the care home on the Monday and my father moved in on the Thursday, on February 28th(2017). He has settled in well, although he hopes to be there for a period of respite care and to eventually move back into his own home, if he is able to do so.
This is a brilliant service. With an adviser, you have a knowledgeable person who comes in and does the leg work for you. That means you can focus on making the best choice, rather than having to start from scratch. I’m used to working through things and if I didn’t have the support from Rachel, I would have got there eventually, but it would have taken a lot more time.
I didn’t know about all the different categories of care homes and when I started looking at care homes some weeks before having Rachel’s support, I found you can waste a lot of time calling care homes that aren’t suitable for your relative’s needs. This service makes a lot of sense: hospitals need their beds and this cuts out the delays caused when family members are left struggling by themselves to find a care home.”