to think that you can't lock someone in on their own? (sorry a bit long)

[paranoidmother]

My Gran is 92 and has dementia. Up until about 2 weeks ago she was pretty with it but now my mum goes round 4 times a day to make sure she gets up, eats etc and then goes to bed.
The house has 2 doors - back door which can be locked with a key and front door which has a latch. So key to get in but anyone can get out.

So for the first time today her next door neighbour phoned to say my gran had gone out and couldn't get back in. So my mum thinks she should put a bolt at the top of the front door so she can't go out either door!!

I think this is wrong (numerous conversations etc about whether she can stay on her own but we're waiting on people to visit from hospital etc to assess) to lock her in no matter what she is like, without anyone else being there and without a key to unlock it herself.

So am I unreasonable to say no this is wrong, on many levels!!!

What if there were a fire?

Anyway, I think it's illegal imprisonment and your mum could be arrested for it.

It is wrong from the pov of fire safety for one thing. In a nursing home she would probably be locked in and not have access to the code that opens the front door, but there would be plenty of staff on hand to get her out in case of an emergency.

Dangerous - what if there's a fire (she may accidentally start one herself) and she can't get out. Get nagging at the Adult Social Care Assessors for urgent assessment.

This is what i've said about it being illegal and fires etc. Glad it's just not me. I was given the treatment of being unreasonable by my mum and was a tad shocked. Gran is not locked in at present.
Ty

op - I don't envy your situation at all - my poor old gran had dementia and she started inviting people in from the street, which was obvioulsy quite dangerous. She lived with my aunt who still worked full time and had to pop back and check at lunch time, but when she started wandering outside etc it was decided she would go into a home, as both my mum and myself live quite a few hours away and just couldn't help out even though we wanted to.....I don't think it is right to lock her in, maybe time to get her assessed and see what they say, all very sad I wish you good luck

Of course you cant lock her in, for safety reasons.

It sounds like she needs 24hr care though, as regular daily visits are not going to be enough security.

I think in view of her dementia locking her in would be a v bad idea, because she might well get confused/panic if she did need to get out in an emergency.

Can understand your mums fear of her getting out and wandering etc, but locking her in would be at least as dangerous if not more so.

V sad for you all though :(

Although it sounds horrendous, I'm sure your mum is doing it to keep your gran safe.

In my area, we have "assistive technologies" that anyone can refer themselves to (or via the GP or district nurse). There are all sorts of gadgets which can help people with dementia stay safe in there own home (reminder boxes e.g to remind your gran to let someone know she is going out amongst others). There are also alarm systems, which will phone a designated person when the door opens, so your mum could know when your gran is leaving the house). If she's wandering, it might be useful to have a sensor clock, which will tell her the time of day (e.g "Gran, it's the middle of the night, it's time to sleep, don't go out") - you record your own message.

Definitely push for social services assessment, or if you don't know how to get hold of them, go through GP surgery or district nurses who could let you know how to do it.

How long have you beeen waiting for an assessment? When the assessment was first ordered was your nan as bad as now? Your mum would be breaking the law and would be prosecuted. She needs to go back to the GP and stress that your nan could be in danger if services are not directed to her. Under Fair Access to care services she has a substantial need, the GP can get an instant refferal through (under the protection of vunerable adults). It will be an emergancy Elderly Mental Health (EMI) team.