Writing down options for a couple to consider proved key in helping them make the right decision to move to a retirement village
Faced with ageing parents in declining health and worrying about their future care as they grew older, Jackie Bushell researched some options. She presented them to her father Allun, 89, and mother Pam, 82, in a document entitled: Options for mum and dad going into the future.
These options included:
Remaining in their current home in Didcot, Oxfordshire and waiting to see what happened.
Going into sheltered housing.
Moving to a retirement village with luxurious facilities and a care home on site.
Richmond Witney
Jackie quickly reached a number of conclusions
Sheltered housing was not a viable option:
• Medical care, especially at night is not available and as her parents grew older this would become increasingly important.
• There were physical problems with the properties she visited; the communal lounge being on the first floor but with no lift.
• People think this move will be their last, but invariably it isn’t due to the lack of medical care provided.
Staying in their current home was not an option either:
• Her parents are devoted to one another, so how would they cope if one had to go into care and the other was left behind?
• Their home was not well designed if either of them had mobility problems.
Jackie says: “While my mother was receptive to the idea of moving to a retirement village, dad was in denial and very anxious. However, he’s a very logical man, so the simplest thing was to present the options to dad in a logical way.”
The benefits of moving to a retirement village:
• Care is available 24 hours a day.
• Mum and dad could continue to live together, even if one needed to move into the on-site the care home.
• No more worries about household maintenance.
• The new Richmond Village at Witney in Oxfordshire would mean they could stay close to their friends in the area and never have to move again as it has a care home on site.
• The finances added up.
• Jackie’s mother-in-law, Doris, had moved very successfully and happily to Richmond Northampton.
the simplest thing was to present the options to dad in a logical way
Allun Evans, a former police officer, and his wife Pam have now bought a two-bedroom apartment off-plan at Richmond Witney. They will be one of the first residents to move in when the village opens later this year.
Richmond Witney will be the sixth Richmond Retirement Village, which has a seventh one opening in autumn next year in Aston-on-Trent in South Derbyshire.
Richmond Aston-on-Trent
For further information and to arrange a visit, please go to www.richmond-villages.com or call Richmond Aston-on-Trent on 01332 895837 or Richmond Witney on 01993 768557
