Sussex Healthcare is an independent network of facilities and support services for elderly patients and adults with disabilities in the U.K. The organization consists of 20 homes staffed by doctors and nurses who specialize in treating a wide range of conditions including dementia and other neurological disorders. Sussex Healthcare’s highly trained professionals provide 24/7 support to patients using state-of-the-art technologies and treatments in a cozy setting.
Contents
Why Choose Sussex Healthcare?
What makes Sussex Healthcare different than other residential care programs? Aside from its superior staff, Sussex Healthcare sets itself apart by prioritizing patients’ quality of life. Since a healthy diet is essential to overall wellness, meals are made only from fresh, local ingredients. Residents can also take advantage of numerous recreational and educational activities on-site or around the local community.
Sussex Health Care was founded in 1985 with just a single facility, yet the group now has nearly 600 beds total spread out over more than a dozen homes. Consequently, it has become the preeminent provider of residential care in Sussex. According to the company’s website, its mission is to provide a “safe environment that fosters dignity, self-respect and independence.”
Care for the Elderly
In addition to accommodations, meals, social activities and personalized specialty care for conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, older patients have access to physiotherapy, reflexology and occupational therapy among other types of treatment per their request. This ensures that these seniors can live a comfortable life during their time with Sussex Healthcare. Their elderly care helps inhabitants be more independent and feel more comfortable with themselves, as they provide only the aid that they need. Their facilities all around the country can cater for elderly individuals who either may need round-the-clock care and support or others who only might need assistance to perform certain tasks, such as completing laundry or cooking.
It might not be obvious when a loved one, or even yourself, might benefit from personalised care at a facility like this. That’s why there are a few different checklists that nurses and other medical professionals use to analyse the ability of a senior to care for themselves and determine if they need more support and greater care. One of the most widely used ones is the Activities of Daily Living checklist.
Basic ADLs evaluate a person’s ability to do essential things and can help people determine if daily care is required. These consist of 6 factors, which are:
1. Ambulating
This evaluates a person’s ability to move from one place to another and if they can walk independently.
2. Feeding
Feeding is essential to life. If a person is unable to feed themselves, then it’s a clear indication that they might need some form of support to ensure that they get all the nutrients they need.
3. Dressing
This includes the ability to select appropriate clothing and be able to put them on. Older people might struggle with this, as some items require a bit of flexibility to get them on, so not being able to do this implies that some help might be required, either physically by a person or with an installation of handrails and supports.
4. Personal hygiene
If a person cannot properly groom themselves, including oral, hair or nail care, they might require the assistance of a care facility.
5. Continence
This evaluates the ability of an induvial to control their bladder and bowel function. If this is compromised, it might make independent living tough, meaning that support at a care home might be better suited to the individual.
6. Toileting
This is separate from the continence metric and instead evaluates a person’s ability to get to and get up from the toilet, if they can use it properly, and if they’re able to clean themselves after use. If this is challenging, then it might mean that care would be beneficial.
Sussex Health Care also offers more specialised care for those suffering from dementia or other common mental health ailments in their later life. The dedicated facilities will give patients the care they need to improve their cognitive function. All the staff at these facilities are appropriately trained and are experienced at dealing with and helping those with various mental health issues. Those providing support would have obtained various qualifications to get into that position, including qualifications such as a mental health counselling degree. This education ensures that all their staff knows what they’re doing and understand how to provide the best care possible. Sussex Healthcare’s services for the elderly are bespoke to the needs of the people living in their care.
Care for Adults With Disabilities
Sussex Healthcare’s purpose-built facilities feature spa pools, track hoisting and multi sensory rooms to treat and accommodate younger adults with a broad range of learning and physical disabilities.These features are in place to help create a calm and stress-free environment so that their time at the facilities are as pleasant and positive as possible. When providing care, Sussex Healthcare’s ultimate goal is to make things a comfortable as possible. This is why they offer personalised care for their patients and have different homes that offer different levels of staffing based on the needs of patients, but most facilities have 24-hour nursing support and specialist providers.
If you’re caring for a disabled adult, it can be extremely draining and a lot of additional hard work to do on top of your other commitments. However, despite that, it can be hard to know when it’s right to enlist the help of professionals to take over the responsibility of caring for them. To know when it might be right to use the services offered by places like Sussex Healthcare, here’s a checklist:
- If you’re unable to provide them with the basic treatment that they require and that they can obtain at a care facility, then it might be better to consider using one.
- If caring for a disabled person is putting you at risk of harm, be that both physical and emotional, then it might be best to get professional help who has the means to deal with this.
- If your quality of life is suffering, or if you’re unable to continue certain key aspects of life, such as working, then using a care facility like Sussex Healthcare should be considered.
Respite and Palliative Care
Sussex Healthcare nurses and doctors follow the Gold Standard Framework for End of Life Care to help terminally ill patients manage their pain. All Sussex Healthcare homes also offer temporary stays for respite care as well as long term palliative care for chronically ill individuals. It might be a delicate subject of conversation, but those with terminal conditions deserve to be in a care facility that can make them the most comfortable, content, and happy. Staying at an end of care facility also helps patients maintain their dignity through this troubling time and also provides them with the mental and emotional support they might also need. The key things that make a Gold Standard end of life facility includes:
- That the care is person-centred. This means that the care is bespoke to each individual and that they are treated as individuals with respect.
- That they follow the national and local guidelines for caring for people who are at the end of their life. These guidelines differ depending on the exact location, but a quality end of life facility will adhere to at least the minimum requirements and usually exceed them too.
- The communication between the staff and the patient needs to be clear, sensitive, and timely. The patient should never be in a position where they don’t know what is happening. They have a right to be well informed of the process.
- The patient and their loved ones also need to be involved in the decision-making of the care that they receive. This is to give them agency and also ensures that the care they receive is making them comfortable.
- An excellent end of life care home will ensure that all of their patient’s needs are met, including their social, physical, and spiritual ones.
- Each patient should have the appropriate number of staff on hand to them, depending on their situation, needs and requirements.
- Emotional support, as well as other types of aid, should be given to the patient’s family and loved ones.
- A gold standard end of life care facility will also identify that supplying this kind of care can be distressing for staff, and as result should have appropriate mental health support available to them.
Who Runs Sussex Healthcare?
Sussex Healthcare is managed by a policy group made up of doctors and entrepreneurs from around the globe. Joint Chairman Shiraz Boghani, who was recently awarded the title “2016 Hotelier of the Year” at the Asian Business Awards, helped found Sussex Healthcare over 30 years ago alongside Joint Chairman Dr. Shafik Sachedina. After practicing dentistry in Britain for decades, Dr. Sachedina expanded his interest to residential care. As part of his commitment to philanthropy, Dr. Sachedina has volunteered with the Aga Khan and Jamati Institutions in addition to serving as President of the Ismaili Council for the U.K.
Living a Life of Leisure at Sussex Healthcare
Because leisure activities and social interactions are vital to everyone’s well-being, recreation is seen as an essential part of the treatment process. On top of offering ongoing opportunities for engagement, doctors and nurses work with patients individually to choose activities that best fit with their previous interests and current abilities.
To keep its commitment to patient wellness, Sussex Healthcare has recently opened a brand new gym facility featuring state-of-the art equipment for independent recreation and personalized physical therapy sessions. Among the new treatments available include physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, which are administered by professional physical therapists who specialize in musculoskeletal, respiratory and neurological disorders. The new facility also boasts aquatic exercise equipment such as an underwater treadmill and a constant current swimming pool. The gym is open to all Sussex Healthcare patients.
Sussex Healthcare’s staff members work one-on-one with patients to develop achievable treatment goals based on comprehensive assessments. Treatment outcomes are evaluated using sophisticated biofeedback programmes to guide the course of therapy. In addition to physical rehabilitation, clinicians offer lifestyle analysis complete with nutritional advice to promote overall health.
Specialized equipment allows elderly individuals and younger patients with physical limitations to safely improve their strength, endurance, balance, posture and mobility. Sussex Healthcare’s team of specialists conduct individual and group training sessions to improve things like musculoskeletal strength, neuro–core stabilization, progressive motion and knee and ankle stability. Personalized care involves corrective exercise programmes with regular reviews.
Treatment Centers That Feel Like Home
Sussex healthcare’s in-house facilities for those staying in their centers for an extended period of time can be customised to suit each patient’s style and personality and allows them to alter their rooms so that it is more like home. Regardless of the type of care that is being supplied, their rooms are sizeable and have all the key features and amenities needed for people to have a pleasant, luxurious stay.
Things such as furniture, ornaments, and pictures can all be brought from a previous place of residence so that those staying with Sussex Healthcare can have a sense of familiarity and quick bed into the environment so that it feels more like home to them.
Comfort is key to physical and mental well-being, especially for dementia patients. That’s why Sussex Healthcare’s homes are set up to accommodate individuals with memory loss. Patients are surrounded by personal items to help them remember their past, and they have ample opportunities to participate in guided crafting, cookery and reminiscence sessions.
All Sussex Healthcare staff are trained in assisting individuals with cognitive disabilities, so they understand the importance of developing personalized relationships with patients. Employees receive ongoing educational opportunities to ensure that they deliver the best dementia care available in the U.K. No other organization in Britain offers the breadth of services and level of personal attention that patients receive at Sussex Healthcare.
