10 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Dementia Care Home in Kolkata

This is the single most important question you will ask. Staff ratio determines how quickly your parent receives help, how often they are checked, and whether problems are caught early or discovered hours later.

A good dementia facility should maintain roughly 1 caregiver for every 4 to 6 residents during the day, and 1 for every 6 to 8 at night, with a registered nurse physically present on site at all hours. If the night shift is thinner than the day shift, that is normal — but there must still be someone awake who can respond within minutes.

Be suspicious of vague answers like "we have enough staff." Ask for a specific number. A facility confident in its staffing will give you the ratio immediately.

Wandering is one of the most dangerous symptoms of dementia. A resident who walks out of an unsecured door can be on a main road within minutes. This question reveals whether the facility has genuinely been designed for dementia — or is simply a general old age home with a dementia label.

Look for locked or alarmed doors, a monitored boundary, and a clear staff response protocol. Ask what happens at night when fewer staff are present. Ask whether residents have any unsupervised access to the outside.

A good facility will walk you to the exits and show you. They will explain how they balance safety with dignity — for example, supervised garden walks rather than simply locking people in.

Dementia patients often have multiple chronic conditions — diabetes, hypertension, cardiac issues. They cannot describe their own symptoms accurately. A nurse must be physically present to notice a fever, a change in blood pressure, or a subtle decline.

What you should expect: a registered nurse physically on site at all times, a doctor visiting at least twice a week in person, and an on-call doctor available within 30 to 60 minutes for emergencies. Ask for the head nurse's qualification and how long they have worked there.

Also ask about equipment: oxygen cylinders, suction machines, hospital beds, nebulisers, and an ECG machine. A dementia facility that cannot manage a basic medical event on site will transfer your parent to a hospital — which is stressful and sometimes dangerous.

Dementia care is a specialised skill. A caregiver trained only in general elderly care will not know how to respond to sundowning, aggression, hallucinations, or refusal to eat. And a caregiver who leaves after three months cannot build the familiarity your parent needs.

Good answers include: formal training in dementia behaviour management, validation therapy, and safe handling; regular refresher training; and a staff tenure where most caregivers have been with the facility for over a year.

High turnover is one of the most common hidden problems in dementia care. It is also one of the most damaging. Every new caregiver is a stranger to your parent, and every change triggers confusion and agitation. Ask directly: "How many caregivers have left in the last six months?"

For an elderly dementia patient, the difference between a good and bad outcome in a medical emergency often comes down to minutes. A pre-existing hospital tie-up means faster admission, quicker specialist attention, and no time wasted on paperwork at the emergency desk.

In Kolkata, facilities typically tie up with hospitals such as AMRI, Apollo, Peerless, Medica, CMRI, or Ruby General. Ask for the tie-up in writing. Confirm the average ambulance response time and whether the facility has its own ambulance or depends on an external service.

Also ask who goes with the resident. A dementia patient cannot explain their own medical history. A staff member who knows them must accompany them, carrying their file and medication list.

Swallowing difficulty is one of the biggest causes of hospitalisation and death in advanced dementia. Food that goes down the wrong way causes aspiration pneumonia, which is often fatal in the elderly. This question reveals whether the facility genuinely understands advanced dementia care.

Good answers include: the ability to prepare pureed and soft foods, thickened liquids for swallowing safety, one-to-one feeding assistance for residents who cannot feed themselves, and input from a dietician or doctor on dietary needs.

Ask to see a sample meal for a resident on a soft diet. Ask what happens if a resident refuses to eat for two days. Ask whether staff are trained to recognise choking and perform basic first aid.

A dementia facility that leaves residents sitting in front of a television all day is not providing care — it is providing storage. Cognitive stimulation, physical activity, and social engagement are core treatments for dementia, not optional extras.

Look for a written daily schedule with fixed times for meals, medication, exercise, cognitive activities, rest, and social time. Good dementia facilities run music sessions, art and craft, memory games, gentle chair yoga, gardening, bhajans or prayer, and festival celebrations.

Critically, ask how they engage residents who are non-verbal or bedridden. A good facility will describe one-to-one sensory activities, hand massage, music, or simply sitting and talking. These are not luxuries — they are therapeutic.

Families who are kept in the dark cannot be true partners in care. And facilities that restrict visiting are often hiding something. Transparency is the clearest sign of a confident, well-run facility.

Good answers include: liberal visiting hours, daily WhatsApp photo or video updates, a named family coordinator (not a rotating receptionist), and monthly written health reports covering weight, medication adherence, mood, appetite, and any incidents.

Ask specifically about unannounced visits. A confident facility will welcome them. Also ask how they handle NRI families — scheduled video calls, time-zone-friendly updates, and assistance setting up calls for residents who cannot operate a phone.

Cost conversations are uncomfortable, but they must happen before admission — not after. Ambiguous pricing is one of the most common sources of conflict between families and facilities.

For Alzheimer's and dementia care in Kolkata, monthly fees typically range from ₹45,000 to ₹51,000 for twin sharing rooms, with a refundable security deposit of around ₹20 lakhs. Lifetime admission plans cost considerably more.

Ask specifically about extra charges: physiotherapy, specialist doctor consultations, diapers and medical consumables, hospitalisation, ambulance, personal attendants, and special diets. These can add ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 per month. Get all of it in writing.

Also clarify the notice period. If you need to move your parent to a hospital or another facility, how much notice is required, and what portion of the deposit is refunded?

Dementia is progressive. Your parent will need more care over time, not less. This question reveals whether the facility is prepared for that journey — or will ask you to move your parent elsewhere when things become difficult.

The best answer is a continuum of care. A facility that can manage mild, moderate, advanced, and end-of-life stages means your parent never has to be uprooted again. That continuity is enormously valuable — for the resident and for the family.

Ask specifically about: bedridden care, catheter and Ryle's tube management, pressure sore prevention, palliative care, and whether they have a written policy on physical restraint and sedation. Also ask about end-of-life protocols — do they allow family to stay overnight, do they have a tie-up with hospice services, and how do they handle death with dignity?