1. Promoting Quality of Life in Care Homes for Older People
Board of Community Health Councils in Wales
Annual Conference, 28 June 2012
Prynhawn da, schmae.
Thank you for your kind invitation for me to join you at conference today and give me the opportunity to speak with you.
Care homes are a very emotive and sensitive issue, which attract attention unfortunately more often than not for some of the poor practice that takes place from time to time.
How can we improve the experience of older residents and also their families? Can a good quality of life be achieved in a care home setting?

2. What does quality of life mean to you?
Freedom of choice
To have goals
Security
Friends and family
Be myself
Security – to feel safe in your surroundings
Purpose – to have goals in life
Belonging – to feel part of things
Significance – to feel that you matter as a person
Continuity - To experience links and connections with the past
Achievement – to make progress toward goals
Significance – to feel that you matter as a person
Purpose – to have goals in life
Security – to feel safe in your surroundings
Belonging – to feel part of things
Continuity – To experience links and connections with the past
Achievement – to make progress toward goals

3. What does ‘care’ mean to you?
Attitude
Environment
Need

4. ‘I realised that staff were here to care for me, not to care about me’
‘You are the sum of all the things that have happened to you in your life, which have brought you to who you are now’
‘I've never regretted coming here’
‘You cant not get interested in people you are with every day’
‘I have my independence, but as much help as I really need’

5. So what does quality of life in a ‘care’ environment look and feel like?
Supported/ enabled to be as independent as possible
Supported/ enabled in the way you choose
‘It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it’
Garden and scrabble before bullet points

6. How can we make the experience of all residents like this?
What makes life good in care homes now, what could make better and how might we get there?
Your views and comments are vital in letting government know what the issues are in care homes and how we might resolve them.

7. What about you? How does this involve you?
Even it is borne out of self interest, making care homes better should be the business of all of us
It may well be you
Take an interest in a care home in your area, challenge what is already in place to improve the quality of life of our older residents

8. My Home Life Cymru Tel - 02920 431565/ 431564 Mob - 07837 347975-
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