Is Choosing the right place for Patient Handling becoming an overwhelming task for you? You are not alone!
When you are looking for a care home or an assisted living facility for your loved ones, making a choice can be hard. You need to find the best care-taking place around. So, to make the process easier, here are a few basics one must consider while selecting the facility:
- Research well– After short-listing the places the first step is to know more about the facilities on your list. Approach the care home and look for a comprehensive Health and Safety report. This will help you understand the health and safety trends of the facility. Besides the report, extensive reading of the company website is a great idea too. This can lead to the discovery of any additional and hidden clauses in terms of policies, charges etc. Reading about the facility over external though trustworthy sources like websites and blogs can be very helpful. It lets you read the reviews, complaints and feedback.
Taking a tour is an important part of the selection process. Never shy away from having a detailed look at every nook and corner of the potential facility. Some important things that one must pay attention to are:
- The living space– One of the most critical points one must see is your personal space in the centre- The bedroom. This is important as the patient spends most of his or her time in the bedroom. The room allotted to the patient must be- fit for the person, well lit, clean, airy, safe, happy and welcoming. Whenever you take a tour never just satisfy yourself with the sample room and insist on looking at the actual living space.
- Furniture and Furnishings– The bed must be of suitable height, the mattress should be comfortable and well suited for the patients need. For example, if the patient is bedridden pressure relief mattresses are a must, to keep the bed sores away. Similarly, if the patient has sensitive skin, the bed sheets must be hypoallergenic. In extreme cases, they must allow the patients to bring their own furnishings for optimum comfort.
- Equipment- At a caregiving facility, good equipment is of utmost importance. For senior, immobile and dependent patients the facility must have quality patient lifting hoists, Mobility, disability and rehabilitation equipment. For example, aged care equipment from Patient Handling can make patients movement comfortable. The rooms must also be equipment friendly.
- Caregivers and staff- Make sure that the patient will always get a direct caregiver who is not a part of other chores like laundry and kitchen. Keenly observe the turnout and the attitude of the staff while taking a tour of the facility. In case the patient has a condition that requires a specialist’s care to make sure you ask for a trained person. For example, patients with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease need special care.
- Day to Day activities and Social life– Interaction is a crucial part of life wherever you live. It becomes even more important if one is away from home. When finalizing a facility always make sure you see if they take the patients out for regular walks where they have time to interact with other patients. Always ask for the list of activities conducted every day to make sure that the patient feels happy and included.
Once you know your loved one requires a patient handling facility, the next critical step is choosing the ideal place for Patient Handling. So, one must always keep in mind, every patient- be it a child, young, senior, bedridden, or disable has individual needs, choices, and dependencies. In addition to that, the place you choose must make the patient feel happy and healthy.