A question for Carers or people who know about Carers.

[SilverySurfer]

Background: I have been going to the surgery nurse once a week for over a year. My legs are puffy so I have to wear elasticated socks and had bad cellulitis last year which has now cleared up. I can't reach to put on/take off socks so the nurse takes off, washes lower legs, uses a cream on the areas where I had cellulitis and puts clean socks back on. This takes about 10 minutes. I'm in Buckinghamshire.

She has recently made the suggestion that maybe it would be better for me to get a carer to do this at home.

I've e-mailed three local companies, the only one who has responded so far has quoted a price of £28 an hour + £3.50 for travel expenses. They don't do less than 30 minute slots and that would cost £17.50 + £3.50 travel costs. This sounds expensive to me but I have no experience of private careers.

I wonder if you could tell me, please, if you think that price is normal or whether you also think it sounds expensive?

Many thanks.

A lot of private care companies set a minimum of 30 minutes, or even an hour. Rates vary across the UK. PILs had carers (Glasgow), up to 15 months ago. Latterly the rates were low £20s per hour, which included travel expenses.

That's not unreasonable. The carer needs to be paid for their travelling time as well as their costs, so a half hour appointment effectively takes an hour of the carer's time.

Do you have a disability that prevents you doing it yourself? Have you looked at aids that might enable you to change your socks?

My mother pays £15 an hour.
They help shower her, wash her hair then dress her.

She tells me they aren't there for a full hour, she sort of moans about that but when I suggest she asks them for help in other areas to make up the hour she's reluctant to do that

They've told us the only thing they won't do is her meds or handle money. I'm happy about that.

The carers that come are all wonderful, fill in her paperwork etc, ring if running late. Best thing we did, so glad we found them.

We're in Wales.

This one would charge £21 (incl travel) for half an hour.

I've tried but can't do it myself and yes I'm disabled. I have tried aids for putting on the socks which are not terribly successful and I have no way of getting them off.

I guess I have to contact a few more companies to check out their prices.

Many thanks.

have they suggested district nurses or district carers do this for you? if you are registered disabled would you be able to get this done for free

I hope you find someone soon. Sounds like this was the nurse's way of gently saying this isn't really their job. The NHS is disgracefully underfunded and this is not an efficient use of resources.

Between £15&20 for a 30 minute slot is normal. Some charge petrol some do not

if you are registered disabled would you be able to get this done for free

There's no such thing as registered disabled anymore, and there's certainly no automatic entitlement to free home care visits. The OP can request a social care assessment, this will be means tested. They may wish to apply for CHC funding, but that's for actual healthcare needs, dressing and undressing does not fall under this.

Are you claiming pip?

A social care assessment won’t cover this as it’s medical. If you want it for free it will be what you’re doing.
Do you claim attendance allowance? You could hire a PA and have them do other things with the time you’re paying?

It's not medical Badge, she no longer has cellulitis. It's not treatment, it's washing and dressing/ undressing.

If you're paying privately you might be able to haggle a bit- I used to work for a care agency and we had a certain amount of leeway as it's a competitive field. Just say "could you do it for [proposed sum]. Having said that I don't think £17.50 is too unreasonable.

Have you tried any of those aids you can get for putting on socks?
www.essentialaids.com/dressing/sock-and-stocking-aids.html

When I was in a hip-ankle cast I used a long handled kitchen tongs with a sponge to wash my foot

HappyHammy no they haven't suggested either.

MyDcAreMarvel - I receive Attendance Allowance out of which I currently pay for my cleaner and gardener.

Lunde I have but my socks are very elasticated and wasn't very successful. Even the nurse has a job getting clean ones back on. Even if I could get them on I have no way of getting them off.

Many thanks for for all your suggestions.

It might Be worth asking for an at-home assessment from the local occupational therapy team, often called the Rehab team. They willbe able to see ideas there are any magical gizmos that could help and properly assess things for you.

Otherwise you might want to ditch the gardener for a bit and use your attendance allowance for your legs instead. The cost is reasonable.

Good luck.

- I receive Attendance Allowance out of which I currently pay for my cleaner and gardener.
Could you apply for direct payments to cover the carer? Do you have a social worker?

OliviaCat I still have the details of the OT Team from last time I left hospital, I will give them a call and see if they can suggest anything. I could cancel the gardeners but I am not physically able to do the work myself and I have gardens front and rear and they only do the basics currently, mowing the lawns and trimming the hedges. I also have a wide range of vigorous weeds which I am trying to ignore

MyDcAreMarvel - no I don't have a social worker.

Thanks so much for your help.

SilverySurfer my DM has problems with circulation in her legs and I used to take her to the practice nurse weekly to get the dressings and stockings changed. Now she is less mobile the Community Nurse pops in. DM won't cooperate with me or DSis doing it.
If I were you I would contact the OT department and possibly Adult Services. There may be equipment etc that could help you and possibly funding for care needs.
DM has a carer every morning to take some of the pressure off us, the shortest time is 30 mins but care company don't allow the carer to take support hosiery on or off not sure if that's standard practice or not.

Windygate - that's interesting - I wonder why the carers can't take off/put on stockings because that's all I really need. If I could get them on/off myself I could soak legs bu sitting on flat end of bath and discovered a good way to put on cream to the lower parts of my legs that I can't reach, was to use a paint roller I will investigate Adult Services - thank you.

@SilverySurfer I love your roller technique :) The reason given was that compression hosiery needs to applied correctly but seriously I know nothing. Dopler scan for DM later this week, should be fun!!!!

I get carers for 2x 30 mins a day funded by NHS continuing care to put on and remove compression. You should ask you nurse or GP to apply for this for you as medically necessary. It’s not means tested.
Also, have you tried compression wraps? Might be easier. I use these www.juzo.com/en/products/compression-garments/oedema-therapy/special-products/juzo-acs-light

@Windygate @SilverySurfer I was told carers had to be specifically trained in how to put my stockings on by a hcp who knows my legs and it didn’t matter if they knew how to do it for other people. But recently (last year) something called care passport or portable skills came in and anyone with that can do stockings for any client. So maybe worth looking again?

@WheelieMe that's very interesting