My dad has parkinsons dementia. We're struggling to find my dad a nursing home. His mobility is poor now and he is of a high falls risk. He has spent the last 10 wks in hospital and after a couple of homes assessing him they say his needs are too complex and they can't cope with his falls risk. Any advice on how we actually find a place for him? Are there any homes that actually take people needing almost 1 on 1 care? Thanks
Hi Steps,
10 weeks is a long time for anyone to be in hospital, it must be really challenging for you all. Have you had any support or contact with your local social services? They may be able to help. You can also get in touch with your local Parkinson's adviser who will be able to talk you through some next steps.
If you'd like to read about home care and care options we do have a page on our website at https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/home-care-and-care-homes. But in this case you might find it useful to speak to someone directly, you can do this by calling our helpline on 0808 800 0303. Our helpline is for everyone affected by Parkinson's, our advisers support to family and friends too.
Let me know what you think of the above and if I can do anything else.
Take care,
Kat
Hi, we are having the same problem as my Dad has Parkinsons and Parkinsons Dementia and is at high risk from falls and also is very complex in his needs. I would be interested on how the user who posted in November got on!
Hi Cat
Eventually we found a home that took my dad after almost 14 wks in hospital. The home is a relatively new home, quite large etc, but now he’s in and settled it was def the best place for him. The home have been great regarding the falls but at the same time have allowed him some independence which is what we wanted. I hope you can find somewhere for your dad. In the end it felt like we had visited every care/nursing home in the area and after the repeat refusals we never thought we’d find a home, but eventually this one popped up. Good luck and feel free to ask anything 
Thanks! We are being referred to an advisor and social services as we don’t seem to be getting anywhere. We’ve been to some nursing homes which are not very nice who potentially deal with the complexity…and then the homes that are nice won’t take on my Dad’s complexity! Also, trying to find somewhere close enough for my Mum to visit fairly easily is the other challenge!
Yes we had a social worker helping, although even though we said we wanted local, she was finding homes 50+ miles away and we kept just having to turn them down. It was helpful with someone else looking and she was also able to negotiate price etc. Is your dad going to be self funding or not? We saw a lot of not very nice homes too, most of which we didn’t even get to come and assess him as we just couldn’t bear the thought of him there. The home I found in the end is slightly out of our area, but it’s still doable for me and my sister and we needed somewhere that we could take the kids too. Not a shared room etc which is what the social worker kept finding. The home I found had no space when I first contacted them but a few weeks later rang me to say they had a room. Then it was very quick, within a week of me viewing, they had assessed him and moved him in. So fingers crossed something comes up for your dad. The sad thing I found with most homes was that it all cane down to whether they felt it was acceptable time/money wise for them. Because he wasn’t just someone they could leave in a chair all day, they weren’t interested. It was so frustrating as for £1200+ a week you expect more help for them…but most of the homes literally wanted someone who could please them self all day and they would just have to carry out minimal care, even tho they were nursing homes! Thankfully the one we found seems full of helpful staff and a manager who feels nothing is beyond their care, without wacking on loads of extra money each week too. Tbh in the end it was also the only home that would even take him but I’m so thankful we found it. Good luck in your search. I hope something suitable is found locally enough to your mum to make visiting easier. It’s such a stressful time. I’d almost given up hope. Good luck