Rheumatoid Arthritis: Jaya’s story

At Acacia Homecare our care provision extends to a plethora of differing needs and requirements. From complex care to general personal care our tailored service ensures that we can accommodate all aspects of home care.  One such type of care is rheumatoid arthritis an auto-immune condition that is very painful causing swelling and stiffness in joints.

Jaya, 71, from Walton on Thames, Surrey, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has been an Acacia Homecare customer since 2016, having been diagnosed with her condition 3 years prior to receiving care.  Loved by all our carers, Jaya is a confident and well spoken individual with an amazing sense of humour.  She enjoys the company of her carers and they in turn look forward to visiting her.

Jaya became a customer after a dislocated shoulder led Jaya to a 3 month stay in hospital as the hospital discharge team realised that she could not be released until a care package was put into place.  During her stay, Jaya’s condition worsened and she became less mobile.  It was a great relief to Jaya and her husband Jay, when she was introduced to Acacia Homecare.  After an initial assessment at the hospital and an agreement on the care package, Jaya was finally able to move back to the comfort of her own home.

Jaya’s care package involved a visit from the Acacia Angels three times a day and the initial visits were supervised by the care manager at the time.  All new customers that join Acacia Homecare begin with a senior team member providing the care to understand exactly the customer requirements and how to approach the care.

Currently the visits include a 90 minute morning call with just one Acacia Angel who helps Jaya to shower, dress and support her to move from her bedroom to the living room.  The second visit is an hour call in the afternoon which again involves one Acacia Angel who will support Jaya to use the bathroom, brush her teeth and wash her face.  The evening visit is attended by two Acacia Angels, who help Jaya get ready for bed and support her into bed.

Although Jaya’s care package has not changed over the years, her rheumatoid arthritis has become more painful over the years and so she requires her carers to be more gentle with her which they recognise and have adjusted the way provide the care.  As the pain patches start wearing off Jaya’s pain becomes more acute and the Acacia Angels are aware of this so the way they provide care also changes from one day to the next, i.e they take more time to support Jaya and understand when she may be in more pain than usual.

Jaya says she is happy with the care provided by Acacia and “the carers are well trained on how they treat their customers and they are good at understanding needs.  It can be difficult when there is a new carer coming in but once they have been a few times they understand my needs.  I would recommend Acacia Homecare as they are good at providing care.”