Transplantation shock & moving care homes

A director of Age Matters has warned a local authority about the risks associated with their plans to close care homes and move residents.

Consultant clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Rachael Davenhill has described the plans by Haringey Council to close three residential care homes and re-home 100 elderly people as raising the risk of ‘transplantation shock’.

Transplantation shock is the experience of elderly people being suddenly moved from one form of long-term care to another.

This can be dangerous and even life threatening.

For care residents over the age of 80 with dementia, the first three months of any move are the most dangerous in terms of increased mortality rates.

One way to reduce this transplantation shock is to move staff and residents together, to ensure the best possible level of continuity.

With local authorities under increasing pressure to manage smaller social care budgets, and some companies in the private care sector facing financial difficulties, it is important they are aware of these risks and the steps they can take to mitigate transplantation shock.

One factor self-funders should now consider when choosing a residential home is the financial stability of the care home operator. The best way to reduce transplantation shock is to avoid it entirely; by selecting a home for the long-term and securing funding by seeking professional advice.

Photo credit: Flickr/sektorkind