Communication With Your Loved One’s Clinicians

When moving your loved one into a care facility, one of the biggest concerns we have is being involved in their medical care. Here at Lovett Care, we do our best to involved family members in every element of our residents care where possible. This includes their medical care. However, we understand you would still be concerned. So here are a few things for you to consider when it comes to communicating with their medical team.

Communicate With Your Loved One

Over time there is a shift between where your parents are caring for you, to when you start caring for them. This change can be a hard pill for your loved one to swallow. So the best start is to communicate well with your loved one.
Avoid going in headfirst and trying to take over. Simply get to know their current medical position, if you don’t currently know this. You can then start to discuss anything you are unsure of with them, before becoming involved with their medical team.
Many people don’t discuss their concerns with their loved ones until they are in the room with a medical professional. This can make your loved ones uncomfortable, and less willing to communicate with either party. The best way to avoid this is to have those conversations beforehand so that they are not blind sighted.

Communicating With Medical Professionals

In the first instance try to encourage your loved ones who do the majority of the talking. With you just inserting prompts where needed. Allowing your loved ones to do the talking allows them to still feel like they are in control and you aren’t taking over.
However, over time, this may not be as easy as it once was as they start to ignore problems, or are no longer able to fully understand their symptoms and diagnosis. This is where you will need to gently become more involved.
No matter which stage you are at, you should always ensure that they understand what clinicians are saying to them, and what will happen moving forward. We often find that many people will say they understand until they leave the room and cannot explain anything that was said. Usually, they are too embarrassed to ask further questions, so ensuring that they fully understand before they leave the room is vital.

Lovett Care

Here at Lovett Care, we see a great range of different medical concerns throughout the year. This means that if you have any questions regarding your loved ones after a diagnosis, please speak to a member of our team today. We will be happy to discuss any changes in need and care moving forwards. You can either contact Lovett Care, or the care homes directly for more information.