Mum wasn’t safe or happy at home - Jean’s respite breaks led to a new home

When Jean felt scared living alone and had a terrible fall, son Chris knew he had to take action to keep her safe and improve her quality of life.

Having enjoyed several pre-bookable respite breaks at our Bartley Green Lodge Residential Care Home in Birmingham, Chris knew he’d found the best home for Jean.

“The respite care breaks have been an absolute godsend,” he says. “They were extremely important because you need that relief, where you can have a holiday and take a breather.

“The staff at Bartley Green are exceptional and it gives me such tremendous reassurance that mum is receiving the best care that she possibly could.”

Chris recalls Jean’s life before moving into Bartley Green Lodge, where despite a long period of highly-valued daily homecare visits and support from himself, Jean was becoming increasingly confused and unsteady on her feet. She also felt increasingly lonely between visits and would forget to eat and drink.

He says: “Mum’s level of confusion and need for reassurance was increasing. She’d lost her confidence and was becoming quite frightened.”

One day Jean fell backwards, hitting her head. “I thought ‘this can’t go on’,” Chris explains. “You would get to her house not knowing what you would find – would she be at the bottom of the stairs having fallen in the night? It just wasn’t responsible anymore.

“A couple of days earlier she’d enjoyed a respite break at Bartley Green Lodge and she said to me ‘I don’t want to be on my own any more, I want to be around people’.”

Chris knew it was the right time and Jean moved into the home immediately, where she was safe, had constant companionship and care from a team devoted to enriching the lives of their residents.

“I had been in this constant state of anxiety, fearing for her physical safety and her emotional well-being,” he explains.

“When she moved into the home the feeling of relief was tremendous. Knowing mum could go somewhere where people could look after her needs fully, in a way that we couldn’t at home.

“When I feel pangs of guilt about whether she could still be at home, the reality is of course she couldn’t, it was absolutely the right decision.

“The staff are excellent - it’s obvious how much kindness there is towards the residents. She will join in with things and absolutely loves the activities.”

For information about pre-bookable respite breaks at Bartley Green Lodge, or for information about care options at any of our homes, our Enquiry Support Team are here to talk on 0800 917 0478.