Another side to story on rest home care

Your lead story ‘‘Rest home woe exposed’’ ( Waikato Times, Feb 13) requires a response from someone experiencing a care facility firsthand. My husband has been a resident of Kintala for 17 months so I see on a regular basis how this facility operates.

Unfortunately in your story, one family’s dissatisfaction was not balanced with other families’ gratitude for, and satisfaction of, the care provided for their loved ones.

Weight loss is a significant side effect of dementia, especially if the sufferer is mobile. The residents eat hearty meals and are given extra food. My husband eats everything put in front of him and is given health supplements, but still suffers weight loss. Kintala management is particularly diligent about monitoring and addressing weight issues, with a GP involved and a dietitian available.

To avoid bruises and falls you would need to put dementia sufferers into padded rooms and monitor them 24/7. They are not aware of other people’s space and do not judge distances, confined areas, steps or floor levels accurately, hence are prone to bumps, knocks, stumbles and sometimes falls.

The reality is they are very vulnerable and staff members are trained accordingly. It is disappointing that Kintala was criticised in this area as I have only ever experienced the highest quality of care and patient management.

The residents are treated like a big family with love and respect, and the staff at Kintala have my greatest admiration. RN STEEL Hamilton Editor’s note: We hope Denise Irvine’s two-part coverage of rest home care in Saturday’s Focus section (part one ran on March 1 and part two will run on March 8) shows the Waikato Times works hard to cover all sides of a story. Mrs Steel’s letter was written before the Focus articles appeared.