Here at Country Lodge Nursing home in West Sussex, we have a community of happy residents and compassionate staff, who all work hard to welcome new residents with open arms and a friendly smile. But we understand that looking for and moving into a care home can be an overwhelming time for both the individual and their family members.
We spoke with one of our residents, Rene, and her daughter-in-law, Kim, to chat about their experience of searching for a care home and the transition period of moving from a family home to residential care.
Introducing Rene
“Rene has been here at Country Lodge for three years. In fact, it will be three years this month as she became a resident in November 2019.
Prior to this she had spent many years living in a warden controlled flat. However, she was taken ill at the end of August 2019 which resulted in her being in hospital for 2 months.”
Kim tells us about the care Rene required, how they found Country Lodge Nursing Home in West Sussex and what life has been like for her since moving into our home.
The need for a nursing home in West Sussex
“We very nearly lost her, thankfully she pulled through, but she was left incredibly weak and frail. She had lost all mobility and she was unable to care for herself, which meant that there was no possibility of her returning to independent living.
We were advised by the medical and social teams at the hospital that Rene would have to move to a nursing home. As a family, we also knew this was the best decision, but it was such a difficult one to make on her behalf.
I, particularly, was dreading the process as my own father had been in a care home before his death and it was an awful experience, both for him and us as a family.”
Searching for a Nursing home in West Sussex
“The social services at the hospital gave us a period of 10 days to find a place for Rene. They provided a few suggestions of care homes near us who had availability and would, hopefully, be able to meet Rene’s needs. That was a starting point for us.
In a discussion about it all with a friend, she recommended Country Lodge Nursing Home in Worthing as her father-in-law was a happy resident there.
At this point we had a list of a few care homes and so, as a family, we started to undertake some research into them all. We looked into the various homes, checked the CQC reports, and read all the reviews we could find. From this research, we made a shortlist of three homes, one of which was Country Lodge.
We knew that to truly see what the care homes were like, we had to visit them, so this was our next step.”
Visiting the care homes
“One of the homes had an Outstanding rating from the CQC, but the four of us all thought the same; it was dark, as there were no windows from the small main lounge, and it was cramped. Although I am sure the care would have been very good, the whole place had a corporate feel, and we knew that Rene would not have settled – so, that one was off the list.
The second made all of us feel panicky, we could never send Rene there.
Our third, and final, visit was Country Lodge nursing home in Worthing. I will never forget this experience. We were immediately impressed, there was such a warmth to the home and to our welcome. The member of staff was so friendly and right at the entrance we could see the board up in the entrance hall explaining various things with regards to the home.
The main lounge and dining area was spacious and open with the most enviable views over the South Downs. The whole place was extremely clean, smelt really fresh, and it was just a really comfortable, homely environment.
The staff were all very attentive to us and, more importantly, the residents. Whilst we were there we bumped into a relative of another resident and they said how happy their father was and how relieved they were to have found the home. Of course, this was the best thing that we could have heard while there – another resident and loved one singing the praises of the nursing home. It really emphasised everything we had seen on our visit.
We were all so impressed with Country Lodge, we could really see Rene being happy there. They had great activities planned that residents could join in if they so wished. This included guest speakers coming in, special performances, singers, movie afternoons, and games afternoons. Not to mention the family events such as the summer grill and all the occasions that they celebrate. We knew Rene was a very social person so this would be great for her.
We agreed that this was the perfect place for our Rene, so we reserved the very last room. Although this was one of the smaller rooms, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity of Rene being able to live here.”
Transitioning from home to our nursing home in West Sussex
“Once this decision was made everything moved very quickly.
Although a daunting time for Rene it was made as easy as possible for her and us. Everyone there knew that this was going to be a tough time for the family, as well as Rene, who was very wary as it was a completely different environment, so they made it a priority to inform us as to how Rene was settling in.
Thankfully, she settled in brilliantly. She said the staff were kind and caring, she enjoyed the food (they have a great chef who cooks real homemade food with locally sourced ingredients) and she loved that we could pop in to visit her at any time. If I am honest, we also loved that we could run over and see her whenever we wanted too.”
Settling in and living her life
“Obviously, Rene would ideally be in her own home, but this is impossible due to her health and frailty, however I think she is as happy here as she could be in the circumstances. She shares stories with her carers, she tells them about her life and she loves hearing about their lives too. She has come to think of them as her family also.
As we said, she is a social person and this part of her character has been nurtured and encouraged by everyone at Country Lodge. She has good camaraderie with the other residents, having made some good friends. One of the things we loved about Country Lodge was the activities programme, and we are proud that Rene participates in as many of the activities as she can and enjoys it.”
Want to visit our nursing home in Worthing?
If you or a loved one are looking for a nursing home in West Sussex, come and view our home in Worthing. We always find that to really get a feel for our care home, you must come and have a look around and meet our team. Get in touch with us by calling 01903 830600 or emailing our Registered Manager, Debbie Spokes, on manager@countrylodgenursing.co.uk.