Improving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care ...

Men and womenTis all aged women that’s here mostlynow like. Do you know, there’s only fouror five men. (YW4 Resident 02, Private)And I stay (in the smoking area) with(man’s name) all the time; he’s my bestfriend. And we have a chat and we readthe paper. (YW2 Resident 03, Private)Communication difficultiesWell, as I say, it’s not easy on anyonebecause I do feel awkward evensomeone talking to me this side(because of the deafness). They aresaying something and I say ‘I don’tknow what you are saying really’. Theymight think I don’t want to talk to them,you know. (GN1 Resident 07, Public)Involvement in the decision to move intolong-term careBecause at least the people who know they’recoming, they’ve made the decision. They knowthey have to stay, and they get on with it.Whereas other people who are just brought in,they say you have to stay here for two weeks… they’re on edge, they want to go home. Theynever give themselves the chance to settle down,whereas the other people do and they decide tojust get on. (YW2 Resident 06, Private)Problems living withresidents with dementiaIf the choice isn’t their own,then there’s hostility and thenthe little pebbles or waterwave start spreading out –the negativity. (FG2D FocusGroup Participant)19410.5 Family and Community ConnectionsThis category focused on the extent to which residents can maintain contact withhome and people from the local community (Table 10.4). Resident respondentsparticularly enjoyed visits from their family and friends. Visitors kept them updatedon what was happening at home, brought them gifts or other things that theyneeded and helped out, for example, by doing their laundry. More importantly, visitsfrom relatives made resident respondents feel that they were still an integral partof their family. Being consulted and included in family outings and events wasviewed by respondents as an indicator that they were still at the heart of the family.Opportunities for resident respondents and their visitors to have a private chatvaried across sites. Those who had a room of their own were able to meet theirvisitors in private. Alternatively, they could meet their visitors in the sitting room.A few facilities had tea or coffee-making facilities in the sitting room, enablingthem to offer their visitors a cup of tea. This helped normalise the visit and makeImproving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care Settings in Ireland