[Brillopad]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Tip of the iceberg really. My wife is currently on placement in a private, "five star" care home as part of her mental health degree... the fees go all the way up to £50k + per year. And some of the things she's seen in less than 3 weeks have had her on the verge of reporting the place. This is somewhere that has near-perfect inspection reports. I can't really go into details for obvious reasons but some of the things she has seen ... ... ... well. TBH if I'm ever in the position of needing to go into a care home, someone please just wheel me near a cliff edge, and I'll do the rest.

After our experience every member of my family has said the same. It's a very depressing picture. Like everything else in life only the very well off are the ones likely to get the kind of care they would like.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Brillopad

After our experience every member of my family has said the same. It's a very depressing picture. Like everything else in life only the very well off are the ones likely to get the kind of care they would like.

We thought that until we saw this place! It is literally one of the most expensive, 100% private, no NHS. It doesn't LOOK like any care home I've ever seen - the furniture is expensive, it has elaborately decorated dining halls and lounge rooms etc...

...but when it comes right down to it, it's all window dressing. The standards of care aren't any better than any other care home (that is to say, straight up poor). I wonder if it's inevitable. Once staff have been in the job for a while, they stop seeing the residents as human beings and start seeing them as chores.

[Brillopad]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

We thought that until we saw this place! It is literally one of the most expensive, 100% private, no NHS. It doesn't LOOK like any care home I've ever seen - the furniture is expensive, it has elaborately decorated dining halls and lounge rooms etc...

...but when it comes right down to it, it's all window dressing. The standards of care aren't any better than any other care home (that is to say, straight up poor). I wonder if it's inevitable. Once staff have been in the job for a while, they stop seeing the residents as human beings and start seeing them as chores.

We have plenty of those - the CCG refer to them as 'gold tap' homes - can cost 1500-2000 a week and upwards. Saw some good looking homes, but never looked around the gold tappers. Should have done perhaps - curiosity.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Brillopad

After our experience every member of my family has said the same. It's a very depressing picture. Like everything else in life only the very well off are the ones likely to get the kind of care they would like.

The more expenive the care home the less they pay their staff, it's all about the directors profits, we were lucky with my nan she went into a small state run care home in Ireland with proper nursing staff, she loved it, and we loved visiting for the fresh scones and tea or homemade soup we got when we visited she was one of the lucky ones there is a long waiting list to get in there which is always a good sign

[Brillopad]

Originally Posted by Cherie

The more expenive the care home the less they pay their staff, it's all about the directors profits, we were lucky with my nan she went into a small state run care home in Ireland with proper nursing staff, she loved it, and we loved visiting for the fresh scones and tea or homemade soup we got when we visited she was one of the lucky ones there is a long waiting list to get in there which is always a good sign

We finally got our family member into a nice nursing home too. Peace of mind at last. Luckily she is a 10 minute drive away and settled. Everyone is happy.