Dementia - help available?

[nancy75]

Im trying to get some help/ info together for a lady I work with.
lady & husband are in their 70s. Her husband seems to have some form of dementia or alzheimers.
They have no other family & she is really struggling.
I know he currently has no formal diagnosis, they have been referred somewhere (details are vague) but not got an appointment until April.
She is on her knees now trying to cope with looking after him, I’m worried waiting until April for help will finish her off.

where is the best place for her to get help?
what financial help might they be able to get?
Can they get any help before a proper diagnosis?
I know a lot of this info is vague, she just broke down when I saw her on Friday & I’ve said I’ll look into this for her.

A good place to start is with Age Concern's website, lots of helpful info there. My DM had a care package set up after being in hospital but you can approach the social services directly too

Are you able to contact Adult Social Services where this couple live - they should have an emergency line, otherwise you get put in a queue and it can take many months just to get allocated someone just to speak to you.

Contact adult social services in their area and state you're concerned and that they don't have support

Hope she can get some help

The upcoming appointment will probably be to see a doctor at the Memory Clinic as a step towards diagnosis.

Google Adult Social Services and the name of your town and you will find a phone number you can give to the lady. She will probably need to leave a message on their answerphone and they will call back, but it may not be for a few weeks.

Be aware there is little help available though. Social Services in the first instance offer 30 minute carer visits (it used to be up to 4 times a day, I think it's still the same). They are to help e.g. with dressing, washing, preparing food. If the husband is deemed unwell enough, he could be offered a placement in a care home but it will all take time.

If the gentleman has over £23,250 in savings Social Services will not help, they would need to self-fund and the lady would contact a care agency/care home herself.

In terms of financial help, the lady can apply for Attendance Allowance which is £68 per week at the lower rate, but he may qualify for higher rate which is £101. She needs to fill out a form

https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/how-to-claim

She could apply for carer's allowance too, there is a link to for that included the link above.

He does not need a formal diagnosis for Attendance Allowance, she should be able to state his symptoms /help he requires and still qualify.

Sadly as above - there is not alot of help to be had unless you can pay for it
The appointment with the memory clinic may result in medication being offered to try and slow decline

Age uk can help. Often have a dementia support service but may need a formal diagnosis. She could refer herself to adult social care for a carers assessment and assessment for the husband.
She should apply for Attendance allowance if he's not already getting a disability benefit and he needs help with personal care etc - this money could enable her to pay someone to give her a break.

Just to add to this - people over state retirement age cannot be paid carers allowance unless they are on a very low state pension which is lower then the carers allowance amount. they can be awarded an underlying entitlement to carers allowance which can increase means tested benefits like pension credit if they are eligible.

Thank you all so much for your advice. I’m going to go through all of this with her & help with phone calls & form filling (she’s very tec adverse) I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions!

Alzheimers Society or Dementia UK can offer advice and some types of support even without a diagnosis. Worth contacting both of them and describing the particular issues she's facing. And there's nothing wrong with getting Adult Social Care involved before diagnosis as well.

They also might get discount or exemption from council tax.