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Respite Care

J

jbnugent

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I am currently on a break of 1 week after 14 months of 24 hour care of my elder type 1 partner.
I pull my hair out at finding a nursing home that has experience of EFFECTIVE caring for type 1 diabetics and the conditions they can develop after 60 or 70 years of living with type 1 . Does anyone on this forum have any positive experience of a nursing home that can manage the complexities of an older type 1 diabetic¿
I would like a break next year but ‘nursing home stress’ is leaving me exhausted
 
jbnugent said:
I am currently on a break of 1 week after 14 months of 24 hour care of my elder type 1 partner.
I pull my hair out at finding a nursing home that has experience of EFFECTIVE caring for type 1 diabetics and the conditions they can develop after 60 or 70 years of living with type 1 . Does anyone on this forum have any positive experience of a nursing home that can manage the complexities of an older type 1 diabetic¿
I would like a break next year but ‘nursing home stress’ is leaving me exhausted
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you are in this position. I don't personally have any experience but it may be very dependant on where you live and are you able to pay privately or is it via Social /NHS care. I assume your partner does not manage their own condition. You may need to search the internet for places that offer care suitable for someone in your partner's situation. Your hospital diabetic clinic may be able to recommend one.
The Diabetes UK helpline may be able to offer some guidance. The number is at the top of the page.
 
My mum is type two and just on insulin once a day. I think for type one I would just be chatting to the nursing staff and seeing how much they understand and how much flexibility there is in their systems - lots of meds have to written doctor’s instructions with minimal flexibility to them. My mum’s nurses are good at taking libre readings and obviously there’s less variability with type 2 during the day as there’s no carb counting etc.

It can help to accept that there won’t necessarily be as tight control as if they’re at home but adequate control is fine for a short time if it’s just respite care. Do they have any neuropathy or other issues caused by their diabetes?

I have had to take a mental step back from what the GP considers adequate care in terms of BG with my mum compared to how I manage my kid’s type 1 so I can imagine that it’s difficult for you.
 
Hi, based in the south.
As mentioned the nursing is pretty inflexible and I have done chatting and written information and interviewing in situ and I appreciate a nursing home regime isn’t going to reach my standards(though it should!)
In 2023 I finally persuaded our current nursing home to use a provided iPad with Gluroo installed (they were highly resistant, believing a pre meal finger prick would do the job) and this year they have managed to avoid hypos - but let’s face it, it’s a low bar.
We pay privately and have tried for advice from almost every organisation you can think of. I have found nothing on-line for a type 1 diabetes.
Doing a post here was really just a last go at finding a possibility for the future and perhaps making contact with people in a similar position who might have had better luck. The over 70s- 80s type 1s are a small minority - it’s not easy
 
Is your partner on MDI, a pump or mixed insulin?

I believe that generally nursing homes manage better with a mixed insulin simply because it only involves 2 injections a day, minimal effort and calculation on their part and meal times are fairly regimented in nursing homes.
If not on a mixed insulin, I wonder if that might make life easier for everyone. Obviously you won't get the same level of management but it might be a compromise that would work, even if you reverted back to MDI on your return to caring. Perhaps something to discuss with your partner's DSN or consultant or whoever oversees their diabetes management.
 
I agree it would be better for respite care to get them onto either a mixed insulin and rigid eating schedule, or fixed meals and fixed doses of insulin. Additionally running a bit higher so that there’s a margin for error, and having a cgm to alert of any low bgs, with a reader that needs charging less than a phone, would help.

Yes it’s not the routine we’d want for ourselves, but it is probably the way a care home will be able to meet both of your requirements.
 
It must be a difficult situation @jbnugent I don’t know any care homes, but if you haven’t already seen it, there’s useful information here:

Diabetes care in care homes

Improving diabetes support in care homes
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

When I had a relative with health problems (not diabetes) in a care home, we found getting a written plan covering everything and with multiple copies available helped.
 
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