FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Information about Homelea

• What is dementia?

  Memory loss, problems with communicating and reasoning, and mood changes are typical symptoms of dementia. Family members may begin to notice that loved ones are forgetting where they placed things or repeating the same information over and over. What you are seeing is the effects of tiny scar tissue forming on the brain that may result from certain types of diseases or a series of small strokes.

  Dementia is not a term that describes a single condition but a set of symptoms that can reflect conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies or Front-temporal dementia/Pick’s disease.

  Alzhiemer’s is the most common form and is noticeable by problems with short-term memory. People usually recall events from long ago and forget those that are most recent. This can of course feel confusing for a person. The symptoms are the result of a chemistry change in the brain that leads brain cells to die.

  Vascular Dementia usually comes as a result of reduced oxygen supply to the brain such as following a stroke. It causes brain cells to die and leads to symptoms such as memory loss.

  Dementia with Lewy Bodies is a form of dementia characterised by abnormally developed structures inside the nerve cells. Instead of growing, brain tissue degenerates giving rise to symptoms that are similar to Parkinson’s disease.

  Fronto-temporal Dementia results from damage to the front part of the brain. It changes mood, personality and behaviour.

  When we talk about Dementia Care we are talking about care that is specially designed to help manage the symptoms that impact on the life of a person living with dementia.

  Whatever type of condition a resident is living with, you need to be encouraged to know that it is not the end of the world. We can with special care and planning help to make living with dementia and dementia-like symptoms much more manageable.

• What is dementia care?

  In order to provide this type of care staff members are trained to understand dementia, its onset, progression and advancement. They will recognise its symptoms and be familiar with the ways in which people respond to it and are affected by it.

  The aim of dementia care is to provide practical and emotional support that is personalised. This is important because dementia is a condition that affects a person’s memory and therefore sense of identity, independence and security. Personalised care helps ensure that each person’s unique sense of self is taken into consideration whilst creating a care plan, delivering that plan and adjusting it as the need arises.

  Dementia frequently affects people in their later years so care must incorporate a number of other factors that can go along with aging.

• Why choose Homelea?

  Homelea has a strong reputation for providing excellent standards of care. Our home is registered with East Sussex Social Services as an EMI care Home. Our latest inspection report can be viewed online on the Care Quality Commission website, or sent to you at your request.

  From the moment of first contact with you our approach is personal-centred and designed to make our residents and their visitors feel at ease. It can make a huge difference knowing you have someone who understands. That’s the impression most people get at Homelea.

  Staff are highly trained and experienced and passionate about the care they provide. Homelea is run by proprietors who are fully qualified in their respective fields and so is able to provide specialist dementia care residents truly benefit from.

• What kind of support can Homelea offer?

  A person usually becomes a resident at Homelea because they require 24 hour support. Perhaps the dementia has progressed and they can no longer manage alone or being a resident at a home with specialist care available 24 hours a day is best at this stage of life. Being a resident then provides access to the care and support that will help them maintain the best quality of life possible. There will be help with things like getting washed and dressed, or going shopping and participating in stimulating and important social activities. A person can then begin to feel a sense of hope, security and being supported.

• How do you support a person to settle in?

  Transitioning from day or short-term visits to becoming a resident is important. Usually it will begin with visiting for the day or for a short period of time during which time a resident becomes familiar with the home, staff and other residents. During this time, a resident gets used to the idea and begins to see Homelea as a home from home. They see it as a place where they are well-cared for, listened to and supported. This transitional period of short visits also allows us to build a life story for the resident, which will help immensely both with settling in and for staff to get to know a person’s personal preferences.

• What’s the accommodation like?

  Homelea Residential Care Home is a spacious double Victorian house equipped with modern amenities, which offers residents a healthy range of stimulating activities to choose from.

  Homelea has 27 well-furnished rooms. They are airy, bright, spacious and decorated to a tasteful standard. Most of the rooms have en-suite facilities for extra comfort and convenience. They are each fitted with a modern call system, smoke detector and hot water taps with thermostatically controlled valves.

  On the ground floor you will find a spacious lounge which is comfortably furnished and equipped with a television, video player, DVD player and music centre. The home also has two dining rooms so residents have plenty of space at meal times. We also have a treatment, therapy and visitors room and a sensory garden, which is accessible from the lounge. The house is fitted with accessible stair-lifts.

• How do you ensure safety?

  As well as smoke detectors, call systems and thermostatically controlled taps, Homelea also ensures the safety of residents by operating a locked door policy. Our alarm systems are tested and checked weekly and the home complies fully with fire safety regulations.

• Can I get financial help to pay for care?

  Funding for residential care is assessed on a person by person basis. It depends very much on a person’s financial status and this will determine whether or not the local authority will meet the cost and, if so, how much. During the process the value of any property and any savings will be taken into consideration.

  The funding assessment process usually takes three to four months so if you are thinking of applying you need to do so as soon as possible after deciding that you would like your loved one to become a resident at Homelea.

  As a general rule if your savings is below £23,250 you may be able to get funding.