Care minister urges care homes to personalise rooms with residents' own curtains and furniture

Care minister Norman Lamb has called for care homes to let residents personalise their rooms with their own curtains, duvets and furniture.

Under a new inspection regime, which comes into force in October, care homes will be inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on how well they create a ‘real sense of an individual’s home’.

Norman Lamb told The Telegraph that care providers must make an effort to “civilise” care homes which he said can be “austere and alien”.

He warned that many care home residents, particularly those suffering from dementia, can feel confused and unhappy if they are “plunged into” a completely different environment from their former home.

Mr Lamb said to The Telegraph: “The whole focus needs to be on personalising care as much as possible.

“A willingness to take a bit of furniture, bedspreads, curtains, whatever it might be that creates that link can be incredibly important in civilising care homes and making them a real home for someone, rather than an austere alien environment.

“We are introducing these much more robust inspections and ratings of care homes and I think those care homes that create a real sense of an individual’s home will be the ones who get the great ratings.”

From October, care homes and home care providers will be rated by the CQC. The new special measures regime will see failing care providers put into special measures and given six months to improve services or action could be taken to shut the care service down.

Gwen Irvine, national care lead from not for profit care provider Anchor, has backed Norman Lamb’s comments. She said: “Creating an environment that older people feel at ease in when they are being cared for is essential. Moving into a care home can be an unsettling time for some so it’s vital that the home works with residents to help them feel relaxed and safe, and to help them develop a connection with their carer.

“At Anchor, we encourage residents to bring personal items with them when they stay with us, like photos or furniture, to help them to feel more at home. Design touches, such as specially built memory panels filled with personal items and framed photos on bedroom doors at our West Hall care home, are especially helpful for those living with dementia.

“As well as creating a personal space for each resident, care homes should also look at their wider environments – knowing that you live in a safe space with a varied mix of inside and outdoor areas that you can move between freely, much as we would all want to do at home, also helps residents feel settled.”

A Government-backed report from the Dementia Centre at Stirling University recently made a series of recommendations on how to improve care homes, which included allowing people to paint their own bedroom doors what colour they want.