Mental Health Care (EMI) Nursing Homes

Nursing Homes specialise in providing nursing care for people suffering from sickness, injury or infirmity - the kind of care that requires the skills of a qualified nurse. Nursing homes are required by law to have a qualified nurse on duty 24 hours a day.

Specialist homes for older people with some kind of mental frailty are often called ‘EMI’ homes. ‘EMI’ generally stands for ‘elderly mentally infirm’ or ‘elderly mentally ill’.

EMI homes can be registered to provide residential or nursing care, depending upon the individuals other health needs. These homes specialise in care for older people with a mental illness or disorder including dementia, although not all residents with dementia live in EMI homes.

EMI homes offer a number of additional services over regular care homes and nursing homes.  Unlike a regular home where residents can come and go as they please, an EMI home will be secure so that its residents cannot wander.  However, homes for such residents are more highly staffed and can often demand higher fees than other homes, due to the higher level of care often needed.

If you are looking for an EMI residential or nursing care home, make sure that they provide the type of care specific to you or your relatives needs and remember that dementia care does not necessarily require a home to offer EMI care.  Equally, an elderly person with mental illness but who does not suffer from dementia may not have their needs met by a dementia care home and would be better supported by a nursing home offering care for mental illness.
 

Mark Sadler