Care home asks for consent to call residents ‘love’

Families have been asked to sign consent forms granting permission for care home staff to call residents “love”.

Norwood House Care Home in Middleton, Suffolk, has introduced a waiver for the use of pet names such as “love” or “dear”.

Other specific terms they must sign off include “darling” and “sweetheart”, over concerns that some terms of endearment may not be acceptable to everyone.

Jose Simoes, general manager of Norwood House, said: “The reaction from relatives has been absolutely positive. It’s about dignity and choice for our residents.”

Addressing the issue of pet names, he added: “It’s harmless; however, in this day and age, what is harmless to one person might not be to another.

“If there is a staff member who likes to use a term of endearment, they’ll know which ones the residents are comfortable with.

“It’s about giving people the choice and being open and dignified with the care we provide for people.

“The feedback from families has been overwhelmingly positive, some have found it funny and said it’s something they’d never have thought of.”

Norwood House, based on a farm house and five acres of land, is a residential home which specialises in dementia care.

The consent forms were devised as a way to ensure residents had the care they would prefer, even if they are not in a position to specify the terms of their treatment.

Mr Simoes said: “If I was to call you sweetheart, you would be able to tell me if you don’t like it.

“But a lot of our residents lack the capacity to tell us if it is something they are comfortable with.

“They’re not able to do it, so the next best thing to do is contact their next of kin and ask if they like being called terms of endearment.”

Staff are told to use residents’ names primarily, but the new policy is in place to ensure that natural terms of endearment are appropriate.