The Care Home Handbook

Aimed at all nurses and healthcare assistants working in care homes, this invaluable, unique and jargon-free resource will help staff deliver skilful care, prevent poor practice, and build knowledge and confidence when working with older people. Grounded in everyday practice, this handbook promotes professional and person-centred care that is safe, high-quality, caring, and compassionate.

Choosing a care home is one of the more emotional and expensive decisions that anyone ever has to make. You may be unprepared, inexperienced, under time pressure and in an emotional whirlwind. This book is designed to cut through this noise and offer clear, practical advice for anyone who has to make this crucial decision. Professor June Andrews looks at everything that you need to know, from first deciding whether care is needed for someone, to choosing a care home, to what happens next. She offers honest and sensible information about costs, quality of care and accommodation, and examines the finer details of what you might consider, such as food, décor, medical services and religious arrangements. A good care home is a reward for a life well spent, and providing that care is a joy for the people who do it well. Avoiding the pitfalls, and finding the right place is the first step.

This handbook provides care home managers and related social work professionals with guidance and practical instruction in understanding the procedures and regulations involved in the Care Standards Act 2000. This is an indispensable and user-friendly guide for all those managing and working in residential care homes for older people.

Residential care is under a national spotlight. This handbook addresses the particular problems experienced by residential staff and offers real examples, case studies, analysis and guidance to those working both with the elderly and children.

Using an accessible, realistic, and reassuring tone, this guide speaks plainly about how to choose a nursing home, make the resident feel most comfortable, keep staff responsive, and deal with arising difficulties.

Here's the brand new third edition of the very popular Home Care Nursing Handbook -- considered by readers as a "beacon of excellence" in home care nursing. Now better than ever, this book that so many nurses have turned to for immediate, excellent advice, has been significantly expanded. It is reorganized for quicker access to expert guidance & devotes separate chapters to interventions for each impairment. Use this guide every day to assess situations quickly, develop efficient plans of care, provide accurate intervention strategies, document patient care quickly & precisely, promote quality patient outcomes--in the shortest number of contacts , & so much more. This book is a vital addition to critical pathways, point-of-care computer systems, & OASIS data collection.

When tasked with providing activities for older people in care homes, it can be difficult to know where to begin. What constitutes an activity? How can you make sure activities are as positive and person-centred as possible? What can you actually do? Written by an experienced activity coordinator, this handbook is an indispensable companion for others in this role. The author provides useful background information on dementia, the importance of activities and how to get to know residents through life story work. She addresses important practical considerations such as how to assess a resident for suitable activities, activity planning, timetabling, budgeting and money-stretching, as well as more subtle issues such as how to enthuse residents and staff to join in and how to deal with resistance from colleagues. An A-Z of inventive ideas and step-by-step instructions for activities as wide-ranging as arts and crafts, cooking, exercise, gardening, meditation, music, reminiscence, themed days and trips out is also included. Offering peer-to-peer advice and encouragement as well as a wealth of practical ideas and suggestions, this is essential reading for all those involved in activity planning for older people, including those with dementia, in care homes.

In our society, the overwhelming majority of people die in later life. They typically die slowly of chronic diseases, with multiple co-existing problems over long periods of time. They spend the majority of their final years at home, but many will die in hospitals or care homes. This book explores the possibilities for improving the care of older people dying in residential care and nursing homes. It argues that there are aspects of palliative care that, given the right circumstances, are transferable to dying people in settings that are not domestic or hospice based. End of Life in Care Homes describes what happens in nursing and residential care homes when a resident is dying, how carers cope, and the practical, health and emotional challenges that carers face on top of their day-to-day work. Based on detailed research from both the UK and US, the book shows how the situation can be improved.