aged care homes

bettyboop · Member

aged care homes

Ma · Guru

A lot depends on the individual facility I think.

One in particular that we had reason to investigate for a family member recently was really bad. We waited over 15 minutes to find someone who could answer some questions and take us around and show us their facilities. The "clients" at the time were propped up in chairs watching a small television screen with the sound turned off. The accomodations were woeful, 5 to a room and no bathroom. Just didn't cut it for us.

We progressed to one further afield and were astounded at the difference.

Two clients to a room with their own bathroom. Activities EVERY day. spotlessly clean. Attention by staff top notch.

Both these facilities were privately run. I haven't had any dealings with government run ones.

Needless to say our family member didn't stay local but it was worth the drive to have her properly taken care of when we were no longer able to provide the care she needed.

bettyboop · Member

Thank you for you reply Ma The replies should be very interesting I wait with anticipation what you people think kind regards Chris

milo · Guru

when we had to think about this for my mum ,
it was tough going around the local places, one was a multi story place
all dark and not very inviting 2 others we looked at , my dad and i ,
were much better.. so it pays to look at them personally..
its a tough call.

justcruisin01 · Guru

My wife worked in aged care for eight years, this was run by the catholic church & all facilities were spot on, individual rooms with ensuites, each had their own tv plus a tv room . all activities organised for them.
She also done the sleepover shift, on call all night, her room had every thing supplied.
No complaints from this one.

Cruising Granny · Guru

Our Sing Australia group often sing at a couple of aged care facilities and they are both, clean and fresh, bright and welcoming.
The staff are friendly with happy dispositions.
It's great to sing to them. They recognise some of the old tunes, even if they don't recognise anything or anyone else.
I love watching them clapping, tapping and singing along.
I know they're not all like that, but the standard is improving since people have dobbed the sloppy ones in.
Keep up the good work.

milo · Guru

justcruisin01 wrote:

My wife worked in aged care for eight years, this was run by the catholic church & all facilities were spot on, individual rooms with ensuites, each had their own tv plus a tv room . all activities organised for them.
She also done the sleepover shift, on call all night, her room had every thing supplied.
No complaints from this one.

thats like the one my dads war friend is in, very good,...

stunshaz · Member

G'day

Firstly nice website Milo looks like you loved that dog as much as i loved mine and there is nothin worse when ya lose them and the Border collies are super intelligent, my Red Kelpie i had for many years had a touch of Border in her and we traveled a lot of miles together for many years there is a page here dedicated to her pretty much like you have done for Ben http://aroundozwithstunshaz.yolasite.com/red-dog.php

Now for Nursing homes, my Missus has worked in old aged care for over 15 years and has a genuine love of her fellow man and anyone who has worked in this field know it is not for the money, pretty much in a nut shell the hours, the stress and the lack of pay has left her pretty depressed to the point she had to give the work up.

If you are thinking of getting into this type of work and don't mind being unappreciated, underpaid then it is the job for you, it's a shame as she loved her work and adores the elderly it's just a pity a large percentage of nursing homes abuse and underpay their staff it is very common in the profession.

Stu n Shaz

bettyboop · Member

Thank you everyone for your replies. It is definitely a very rewarding job looking after our very special aged care residents and yes it does come down to funding etc but I do agree with Stu and Shaz The management need to get on the floor to see how hard it is sometimes with little staff to properly care for the residents It is a stressful job and we do try hard to make life better for the residents.I hope all the shonky ones are dobbed in and the standard of care for both staff and residents improve. I hope when my turn comes at least I will have my own room Tv and what ever else I need to be as happy as possible, We have sing alongs for our residents as well and they enjoy it so much happy safe travels to all

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Over 30 years I worked in various nursing homes and aged care hostels. And everything you say about the work and conditions is true... no better now than in the 60's. I think that the care might be a little better in small country towns than in the big cities, as in the cities there is a very rapid turn-over of staff (Because its such hard work and easier to get other jobs), and the country ones seemed to have a more stable staff. Every facility has to undergo rigorous Government accreditation procedures, but sometimes I wondered how some places got through.
I would HATE to be in any of them!! No independance, eat what you are given,like it or not, and put up with dementing fellow-residents who come into your room and take your things! Its enough to make me think of voluntary euthanasia!.

I also worked in community care for 8 years, and think that this is the best option wherever possible, to have help to stay in your own home.

But as our generation ages, there will be more of us, and less aged-care assistance available, so I think it extremely important to do whatever we can to stay healthy!

keviny6 · Veteran Member

have had 2 experiences with aged care home , the first was for my mother ,doctor told us that the time had come for her best interests would be a nursing home , even though she was mobile , first one we looked at wouldn't put a dog in it let alone mother , then the doctor arranged her to go into one that belonged to the IOOF. was fantastic and she was there 6 years, wonderful caring people aged care nurses , deserve every dollar they get
.
the other was my late wife, i was her carer for over 7 years till her emphasemer , got too bad , the hospital after one of her- (over a month)-stays told us they could not do anymore for her, and that her bed was needed for someone they could treat.
they made the arrangements for her to go into the helping hand centre , and once again they were fantastic people , we celebrated our 43 wedding anniversary with a party that they put on for us.
Ihave heard of a lot of bad homes , but over the last few years the federal govenment seems to be cleaning them up

NandK · Senior Member

G'day Bettyboop,my mother who turned 96yrs on Tuesday lives in aged care in Adelaide.
The home is an RSL aged care home,my family over there say it is 5 star and the nurses and care are also tops with no complaints at all.

stunshaz · Member

Yes it puts an enormous strain on the staff and ya find the majority of permanent staff dependin on where they are workin the work load becomes unbearable as under staffin and over workin is common place havin to work 1500 hours a day 8 days a week to supplement the pathetic wage an EEN, AIN are on.

This of course drives them to take days off to cope with massive mental and physical stress that is put on em that is why a good deal of nursing homes are run by "agency staff" 90% of the time which of course is more expensive to employ then the "permanent" staff but they are to blinded by greed to see it im sure of it, far to busy milkin their cash cow.

It was I that convinced my missus to give it away as i could pick up on how it was effecting her mentally and physically I remember sayin "you will end up a resident rather then a staff member the way ya goin" it's just not worth it, and now she is still not 100% back to her normal self but we are still exactly the same financially as i think i could quite easily match a Geriatric nurses wage by collectin coke cans on the side of the road.

Stu n Shaz

http://aroundozwithstunshaz.yolasite.com/

bettyboop · Member

Thank you everyone for your replies Seems we have bad homes still and lucky for some they have foung some good homes for their loved ones Yes is a real stressful job but rewarding.The pay is very poor and can easily see why there is such a great turnover of staff I have come home after my shift and cried because there was not enough hours in the day to attend to residents care properly The staff ratio is around 1 to 12 and is really hard On top of this we are expected to clean do the laundry etc {called multiskilling} is so much cheaper to get trained carers to do the cleaning Around $5 dollars an hour less than employ cleaners I hope us baby boomers will be able to have more say when we need care So when our turn comes ask plenty of questions before you sign on the dotted line I feel some homes are only there to make money How awful to use people for profit