Do you feel guilty about placing a loved one into an aged care home?
We as a provider, recognise that making the decision to transition your spouse, mum, or dad in a residential aged care home, can be very difficult and may result in a lot of conflicting emotions, with guilt tending to dominate. Please know, this is completely normal and there are ways to manage your guilt and steps you can take to cope with it.
1. Take up a respite stay
Respite care is an available short-term care option which enables people to have government or privately funded stay in an aged-care home.
A couple of weeks’ stay in an aged-care home can give you a good sense of the meals, activities, other residents, staff and most importantly — the care. Best of all, you can eat there too, continue attend outings and participate in the social activities together.
At the end of your stay, you may decide you love it and have comfort for your loved one to move in, or you may decide they return home wiser for the stay.
So, respite is a great service to determine if you are ready to move a loved one into a particular provider’s home.
2. Ask the home for a resident’s representative to contact
Residential Aged Care homes are more than happy to provide you with the contact details of a family member or representative of a resident. They can share their experience and feelings when their loved one entered a home and these discussions have been found to be extremely helpful in coping with feelings of guilt.
3. Weigh the pros and cons to continue self-care, in-home
Caring for a loved one is a huge task and often a full-time job. If you’re experiencing negative effects on your own wellbeing, including your relationships with friends and family, professional and qualified care exists to provide your loved one with 24-hour nursing and support.
Activating a move into residential aged care may be the best for everyone involved as it enables your loved one to receive the expert care they need while allowing you to take care of yourself. Also remember that you will be able to visit regularly to provide support and influence your loved one’s care, without the added pressure.
While it may be difficult to hand over the duty of care and feelings of guilt stopping you from taking that next step, please know your loved one will be placed in good hands and the many benefits can bring you comfort.
Contact the friendly team at Heritage Care to learn more about what to expect when moving into an aged care home.
Life at Heritage Care
Heritage Care creates safe, welcoming and inclusive communities for our residents. Our team of compassionate and highly trained staff work collaboratively to give our residents an active and fulfilling lifestyle that is unique to each residents’ needs. We offer a safe and secure environment that allows ageing in place, so your loved one will be cared for as their needs change. Our mission as a residential aged care provider is to be the best at everything we do for the benefit of the community, a mission we never stop striving to reach.
We empower our residents to retain their independence in our community by giving them the power to make daily decisions around their healthcare and lifestyle needs. Our residents enjoy wholesome and culturally accepted meals, while living in a supportive environment that takes a person-centred approach to aged care. We listen and make it a priority to get to know each resident individually to help retain their quality of life.
Each member of our team is dedicated to brightening our residents’ day. Our caring and compassionate team choose to work with us to make a meaningful difference in our residents’ lives. At Heritage Care you will find experienced nursing and clinical care staff supported by strong operational management. Each day at a Heritage Care home offers stimulating and versatile experiences to help our residents stay connected to each other and their loved ones.
View a home that is closest to you.
