It’s been about 6 months since I started visiting a nursing
home once a week – The Haven - in addition to my current residential home –
Rowden House. Whilst both seem to be very good homes, they have some
fundamental differences that I’ve noticed, probably due to one being a nursing
home. Firstly, the people in The Haven all have severe dementia, which is less
severe at Rowden, owing to the higher level of care that they require. This
means that it is a lot harder to have a conversation with them (though we still
try!), but they do still like the saxophone! Secondly, the security at The
Haven seems to be a lot tighter, including an alarm going off whenever the door
is opened and a keypad to open the door, in case people forget that they
probably shouldn’t go outside, especially as it is near a road. Also, whilst
Rowden is a lot bigger, both homes have about the same number of staff, again
due to residents needing a higher level of care.
