The carers’ opinions
The carers were more likely to offer an opinion, although nearly a quarter said they did not know and 7 per cent said there was no difference. Over a quarter thought private homes cost more, but around one fifth thought that private homes offered more luxury or better care. On the other hand, over one in ten thought that local authority homes offered better care and attention.
The question of regulation and inspection was important to the carers, and one fifth of them mentioned this as an advantage of local authority residential homes. A further fifth thought that local authority homes offered better care and that people were well looked after in them. Some carers thought there was rather a lot of variability in local authority homes. But there was no doubt that the accountability of local authority homes was seen as a big advantage by those carers who had considered residential care. The elderly people who could comment on the advantages of private homes thought they offered better care and facilities as well as more staff and better food. There were comments on the advantages of having a single room. But the number of comments were limited to the third of the respondents who felt able to say anything.
Many of the elderly people were very even-handed in assessing the advantages of local authority home and private homes. Some people thought that the smaller size of many private homes was an advantage. The company was not always thought to be more congenial in private homes. There were comments suggesting that private homes were seen as more flexible and that local authority homes had a lot of ‘rules and regulations’.
One third of the carers could not comment on the advantages of private homes. But one fifth of the carers thought that private homes offered more comfort and better facilities, while one in six thought that elderly people were better looked after and had better care. Ten per cent thought there was more nursing care. There were surprisingly few references to individual choice or fewer regulations or other factors which might be connected in people’s minds with private care. On the other hand, one fifth of carers thought there were no advantages to private homes, and some were quite adamant that they were not to be recommended.
We asked both the elderly people and their carers which they would prefer if the elderly person were to go into residential care. There was remarkable unanimity of view between the elderly people and the carers, in spite of the difference in the samples. Forty per cent of the elderly people and 43 per cent of the carers said they would prefer a local authority home, 8 per cent of each sample said they would prefer a private home, 23 per cent of the elderly people and 25 per cent of the carers said they would not like either, and around a quarter of each sample said they did not know or could not answer the question.
Carers also commented favourably on local authority homes which they knew. It often appeared that private homes were much more of an unknown quantity to both elderly people and their carers. Some of the comments from carers reflected their reliance on their feelings about the different types of homes.
This tends to reinforce the evidence presented throughout this report that people do not know about things until they need them, and even then they may find it difficult to get information. There is not a widespread knowledge base among either elderly people or their carers about services for elderly people, either in the community or in residential care. It is very difficult to exercise choice if you know very little, and it is even more difficult to participate in decisions about your care if you are not aware of what is available.
See also:
www.residence-care.eu – another web about residential care
www.tanzania.eu – everything about Tanzania
www.diving.eu – discover underwater world
www.relax.pl – database of all kinds of objects, from agrotourism to hotels and inns in Poland
www.residence-care.eu – another web about residential care
www.tanzania.eu – everything about Tanzania
www.diving.eu – discover underwater world
www.relax.pl – database of all kinds of objects, from agrotourism to hotels and inns in Poland
Visit also:
