“She’s safe and I can sleep at night” Julie’s journey from home care to Sanctuary Care

When Julie felt she needed extra support caring for her mum Evelyn as her Alzheimer’s progressed, she organised regular home care visits. She quickly realised this wasn’t enough, so Evelyn moved into a Sanctuary Care home and they’ve never looked back.

Four years later, Evelyn is still very happy and we talk to Julie, who takes a look back at their journey.

At the time Julie was working full time, with children and grandchildren of her own, and a mother-in-law who also required support at home, there were so many competing priorities for her.

“When mum was at home things were getting worse and she started calling me in the evenings to say she was frightened” Julie recalls. "She was also saying she was eating, but she wasn’t and was frightened to get into the shower in case she fell.”

Julie organised for Evelyn to receive home care visits twice a day. They would support her to get showered and make sure she’d eaten. Julie then went over after work to cook dinner and make sure Evelyn was safely in bed.

“Sometimes I felt they could spend more time chatting to mum to get her relaxed before coaxing her to have a shower,” she says. “But they would come in and it was a whirlwind, so if she refused to have a shower, that was it.

“They’ve got all these people to see and the timeframe they have is short, so it’s difficult for them.”

It became clear more help was needed, so Julie increased the home care visits to four times a day.

“They were very good and were always on time,” she explains. “But they would call me to say she was getting anxious and wouldn’t allow them to help her to have a shower.”

One day a neighbour found Evelyn lost, walking round the streets. Julie adds: “It was clear that she needed 24-hour care so that she was safe.”

After Evelyn moved into a Sanctuary Care home, Julie could finally relax, with the peace of mind that her mum was safe and receiving care from a team who were there around the clock.

Four years on, Julie adds: “I can sleep at night - the anxiety has gone and I feel relaxed - it makes it easier for me to know that she’s got company.

There is always someone there and she’s safe. The staff are very caring and kind, and they do a wonderful job.

And for Julie, the way the team care for Evelyn in such a truly person-centred way is very special, enriching her life in so many ways.

She adds: “Mum was a great baker, so she enjoys it when they do baking, and things like folding napkins together. And she loves it when they do afternoon tea with the fine China tea set.

“Amanda the chef is so kind and caring – the food is great and mum loves her home baking.”

For more about how we are enriching lives in our Sanctuary Care homes, our Enquiry Support Team at here to talk on 0800 917 0478.