Elderly/disabled granny - struggling with bathing!

[Olinguita]

Hello everyone, first post on here... I'm helping to care for my grandmother who recently had a stroke. She's back from hospital now and in her own home but needs a lot of help. We're getting our heads around daily life with her limited mobility, but one thing that is a struggle is bathing. She's on a waiting list for someone from the council to come round to help her to bath, but it's looooong (as in, several weeks). Does anyone have any suggestions about private agencies or other solutions? We literally just need someone to pop in and help lift and bathe. I don't think I can get her in and out of the bath to do it myself and she doesn't want any of the family to bathe her....
Has anyone else had this problem, and how have you got around it? I just hate the thought of her being uncomfortable :(

I'm not actually a mum myself so I hope you don't mind me posting here! Mumsnet seems like a good place to discuss anything family-related

Thanks

[MissAntithetic]

Hi.

You can buy bath seats that electronically go over the bath and into it. Some firms even hire them out.

You could get a private carer in but a lot of them have a minimum time of one hour and they can only assist. Nobody in the health or social care field is allowed to manually lift someone into a bath any more. They must use a hoist or other aid. They can help her but if she can't weight bear then I'm afraid they won't/shouldn't do it.

[ParsingFancy]

Inflatable bath lift, or the solid kind.

I haven't used any of these products, but they seem a fairly standard solution.

[CMOTDibbler]

If you phone round some agencies, you can find a private carer to help out. My parents have recently used one and really liked the carer and she helped out loads

[CoTananat]

Yeah, unlikely you'd get an agency to lift into a bath without aids.

You can buy a Bath Buddy, which my mother had and worked well. I think we paid less than that, though. Shop around.

For a cheaper, temporary solution, I can recommend Clinisan range. These are products that clean without water so she can stay properly clean while the council sort out what she needs. IME Clinisan much better than the other ones on the market (Senset in particular). We use the spray foams and the bodywashes.

The council should provide bathing hoists FOC. Hopefully you are already waitingfor them to send an OT round? You need to request, forcefully, "reablement" intervention.

[dingledongle]

Hello

Get a referral to local Social Services they can help suggest agencies if you want to go done the private route.

She should have been assessed by physiotherapist or occupational therapist prior to discharge from hospital.

Some day centres offer help with bathing if she would like to go (local age concern for example) but social services should be able to offer some advice.

Alternatively does she have any input from local GP surgery? If so District Nurse team. May be able to access some bits of equipment to help?

This may sound like a silly question but does she want a bath? My generation may bathe a couple of times a day or shower but
I know my gran never had a bath for years but was happy with a thorough wash with a flannel.

[daftdame]

May be in the meantime you might be able to sit her in a nice thick towelling robe on a nice solid chair in the bath room. A shower might be good enough with her hair if you can get her near the sink and a bowl and a flannel to uncover and wash other bits as you go. The robe might help preserve her modesty enough for it not to be too embarrassing for her.

Hope all goes well for applying for a more permanent solution.

[Fionar71]

I work for a care agency and no careers would be allowed to physically lift a client in and/or out of a bath. It's against good moving and handling guidance and employers liability insurance would be invalidated.

As has been said above, you need to get a referral to social services in - you can do this yourselves - they will arrange for assessment not only of her physical needs but also her ability to pay for her own care. In a lot of cases they will fund for personal care where it is shown there is a need for it; they will arrange the agency from a list they work with and who can take on the workload.

The assessment will involve an OT who will decide what equipment as well as what level of care and how much time will be needed to provide the care. Once the assessment is done and care level and need is agreed and once funding is in place then equipment will be in place for care to take place.

Fionar

[LadyLapsang]

Have you thought about removing the bath and getting a walk in shower with a seat and grab rail fitted? DM can't bath any more but can now shower, at first had carers come to help her and I think SS took things more seriously because they could see the family were helping too by trying to get house sorted. If she has been discharged from hospital and still needs care she should have a care plan. What care and support does she receive at the moment?

[davinaclark87]

It's definitely worth looking into installing a walk-in bath of some kind - I was in the same position as you a few months ago - in the end, we decided to choose a compact disabled bath similar to this design - www.accesswalkinbaths.co.uk/midi-size-walk-in-baths/ - it has really helped my mother and her carer also!

[mummybear25]

Any ideas on how to encourage Mum (80, living at home independently but starting to need more help) to eat more? I live 3 hours away and visit once a month so it's hard to keep an eye on what she's eating on a day to day basis. She's never had much interest in food and doesn't socialise so she finds it hard to keep motivated. Currently her weight has slipped back to 6 stone 13 (she's 5ft 3).

We're thinking of ringing the changes with Wiltshire Farm Foods instead of the supermarket ready meals she's been eating and also were going to try supplement drinks. She doesn't have a carer, but we're wondering if that might also help to have someone pop in every so often.

We also need to encourage her to drink as she was recently hospitalised with a UTI, but she worries about night time incontinence. Suggestions please!

[CMOTDibbler]

Mummybear, you might be better off starting a new thread so people see it.

I think it sounds like your mum needs to start having a carer visit daily to get her to eat. We've been massively lucky and found an independant carer who has built a great relationship with my parents, and has the time to cajole mum into eating and makes sure they both drink enough of the right things.

Does she have incontinence, or just not make it to the loo in time? Mum now wears those tena pants, which she has accepted quite well. The carer makes up her bed with a waterproof undersheet, and discreetly checks it when she makes the bed

[mummybear25]

Hi CMOTDibbler

I did mean to start a new thread last night but my tablet was playing up and then died on me before I could try and sort anything out! Sorry to invade your post Olinguita and I hope you get sorted soon.