Would you expect a care home to stay with care user when going to urgent care/ a&e

The home most likely struggles to staff itself full stop, never mind having to find another 2 staff each day (1 night and 1 day). A hospital escort is in effect like a 1:1 carer and that's rather expensive. So no l wouldn't expect them to and they probably couldn't even if they wanted to

Hospital should have a transport service.

In this instance, the aunt is not transferring to hospital, she is there having a swelling reviewed.

What would you expect staff to do in this case?

From my experience you can't expect much from care home staff, they do very little and take no responsibility.

They love getting rid of inmates to hospital- less owrk for them for the same fees.

Hospital transport can be arranged - however, if it’s for an appointment like a scan ie non urgent, then if the ambulance gets called to something else, it may be cancelled at fairly short notice.

I’m with you having seen a number of relatives go through the care process I’d much rather shuffle off after I’ve had a decent innings.

The care home or hospital can arrange hospital or community transport, it's not up to relatives to transport residents especially if they need any sort of manual handling or use of equipment which they wont be trained how to use.

I will be an old person with no family (only child, no children) and I am terrified of all this. 😔

Similar for my dad (dementia) - with my mum, the hospital didn't want her to take a carer as she has mental capacity, so then it's just a question of arranging transport.

OP, there are private ambulance/wheelchair taxi services that come with suitable staff who can quote for the expected round trip and staying with your relative, but they are expensive.

Yes I would expect it. The care home are the persons carer and are getting funds to do that. A hospital visit is care. The family are not.

In case of attending A&E care home do
not have to send a member of staff and often won’t as it’s an emergency. Unless a resident has 1-2-1 funding in which case a member of staff should escort as that carer is there for that particular resident only.

In cases of planned appointments a member of staff should attend and escort aunt and patient transport can be arranged by the home if your mum cannot do it. Your aunt will likely have to pay to be escorted to her appointments but as it’s a planned appointment the home should be able to arrange this with their staff in advance.

Your best option is to speak to the home and see what they can offer x

My MIL has dementia and is in a care home. She’s had a few visits to A and E over the last couple of years and a member of staff always takes her and stays with her until she’s either ready to come back to the home or admitted.

She’s also had a number of hospital/dentist appointments and these are put in the diary so the staff know she’s going and she is accompanied.

We’re the closest relatives but we are 450 miles away.

She is self funding but many - probably most - of the residents are funded by the council. I’m fairly sure the home don’t differentiate. Many of the residents have no one visiting them. We don’t think the staff know who self funds and who is funded. The manager does but the staff probably don’t.

I think it's important people realise how limited care homes actually are in what they provide. If you don't have family you're really shafted even if you have cash. (I am absolutely set on euthanasia to avoid this)

Bloody hell. Is this in the U.K.? Its not a thing where we are that carers stay in the hospital
If a person has been admitted to hospital then that is beyond the care that the care home can provide and the NHS is responsible. The NHS funds a 1:1 from ward staffing at their discretion if absolutely necessary ie acute risk to self or others but obviously not just for being confused or ill which everyone is.
The only exceptions I can think of are prisoners, people on MHA sections and occasionally very posh people whose 1:1 carer has been paid to accompany them.

Maybe you were, possibly it balanced out over it time or was cross funded by other residents but I don’t think many businesses can afford to absorb regular additional costs of £400 per day.

I retired a year ago. We certainly weren't charging £3k a week, we weren't charging £1.5k a week. We still did it.

So basically you are telling me what we did and what organisation is still doing isn't possible. Maybe we were magicians.

No it’s not the norm for staff to go- it would mean they are a carer short then what would happen if the persons shift finished and they are still waiting at hospital? Are they expected to stay unpaid?
sometimes they arrange for a carer to take service users to scheduled appointments - if it’s a private care home- they will charge for this

I can’t help but think that’d be really expensive. Even at minimum wage, the wage bill would be £300 plus holiday pay, employer NI, payroll, pension contributions so probably closer to £400. Fixed costs of running the home are still there.

You’d have to be paying £3k + a week for them to be able to fund it.

Would Driving Miss Daisy be something that might help with appointments OP?

https://drivingmissdaisy.co.uk/

My understanding is that they need to make sure someone is with her, and if family can't/won't help it would be care home staff, but they obviously give family the impression it needs to be them.

I remember my friend being very upset when her mother's care home was very unkind to her because she couldn't stay with her mother in hospital.

They really should.

Depends where you are. My local hospital are quite clear that the home is paid to provide care, if a patients needs that level of care they expect a carer to be present ideally 24/7 but definitely for a good portion of the day.

Or the on call comes in.

DF was in a care home. At the start there were fairly frequent trips to A&E by ambulance, and I'd meet him there. Every time it was for suspected sepsis. GP travelled to care home to see residents, and care home nurse had tests for (eg) uti, so no need for emergency GP visits. No non-emergency hospital appointments as life expectancy and ability to undergo treatment didn't warrant it - also he had made it consistently clear that he wouldn't want that when he was able to.

Your DM cannot possibly be expected to do this. Care home needs contact details updated ASAP, to ensure she isn't expected to take physical care of her sister. That needs to be included in handover paperwork from home to ambulance to hospital. I really sympathise with you, it's an awful situation.

THIS!
Nurse of 37 years.