The best care home locations across the globe for dementia sufferers

Statistics say that there may be as many as 18 million dementia sufferers around the world, which means that it is becoming one of the fastest developing issues for many countries. The problem is that in many cases, their families are unable or unwilling to take care of the victims and they need some sort of care home to look out for their well-being.

What standards are there for home care for dementia patients?

In truth, the standards for taking care of dementia patients varies greatly depending on the country the people live in. Some countries, such as the UK have many high quality home care facilities, while other place just stick them in nursing homes or leave the families to care for them on their own with little or no support.

Some countries have inadequate monies to offer much in the way of care, while some don’t, and some offer things like day care or nursing care, while others don’t, as well as some covering certain services like medications, tests, etc and others not covering them. As said, it varies greatly.

What do some specific countries do about dementia patients?

For instance, only the UK has developed an actual old age psychiatric service, whereas in Germany there aren’t many people who even specialize in geriatric care and in Belgium they are permitted to offer euthanasia in some circumstances, while sadly, in the Ukraine there is a high rate of suicide amongst the dementia victims.

The European Dementia Consensus Network works to come up with guidelines and practices and has members in the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, and Denmark. This organization works to get standards of care in six areas: care sites (home or a care facility), to get a partnership between the families and medical care givers, to keep the patient in as dignified as possible conditions, to support the caregivers, and to plan out other types of services.

Home Care Facilities Around the World

Dementia care is very challenging, and in some care home facilities there are specialists who look out for the person’s health, as well as personal welfare. For instance, in the UK there is a series of home care facilities run by Anchor that gets training and support from a special dementia team.

Anchor has more than 100 facilities in England and nearly all have been rated as excellent and offer 24 hour care, nutritious food, and can adapt to the patient’s needs. This group of homes has won recognition for their services in many areas.

Erickson Living Communities in the U.S.

One of the better dementia home care communities in the U.S. is run by the Erickson Living Communities. They don’t look like a hospital setting; instead the patients have their own rooms, as well as community kitchens and other things. There are hobby activities, laundry facilities, gardening, etc. and the staff is always on hand to help if needed.

It is believed this kind of arrangement helps not only preserve the dignity of the patient, but also let the staff get to know them better. |Studies show they have a much better outcome and offer a less stressful environment for everyone. They are in nine states: Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Colorado, and New Jersey

Important to retain dignity, yet provide proper care

These are but two examples of some of the types of home care facilities for dementia patients. In some cases doctors may try to keep them with their families, but eventually their conditions may worsen so that this isn’t possible, and then they need a place that gives them the supervision and medical attention they need without hurting their dignity or sense of self.

The bottom line is that dementia issues are a big concern all over the world and countries are scrambling to try to find ways to afford the services they need to help its victims and their families.

This article comes from Nisha representing mha.org.uk – a charity providing care and support services for older people in Britain, with care homes in Stockport, Southampton, Glasgow, Leeds and many other locations.