To think rationing incontinence pads is outrageous

[FannyCann]

Someone I met this week works as a trustee for a non profit making nursing home for the elderly. She told me the council has recently announced they will only pay for FOUR incontinence pads a day per person.

Some people will go through four in an hour if they are having a messy event.
For a person who is doubly incontinent no way will FOUR be enough per day.

I just feel outraged by this. Wtf are the home meant to do when the FOUR have been used up? Imagine the headlines as relatives arrive to visit and find their elderly loved one sitting in a shocking state as they had gone through their ration several hours earlier. What would the CQC have to say about that?

I understand it must be a significant cost but it is every bit as essential as food or a roof for people who need them. I don't really have a useful suggestion as to where the funds should come from.

However....

I would just like to lock any person responsible for this decision in a room with FOUR pads and say "there you go. I'll give you another four tomorrow." And see how they are a week later.

I don't even know why I'm posting this except perhaps to raise awareness of some of the issues relating to care of the elderly. Because I was utterly shocked by this nugget of information.

It's the same in many areas for disabled adults and children, has been the case for years.

Horrible way to treat people

I think it’s two round here. Being ill is an expensive business.

This is a dreadful way to treat people. I googled and it's seems like these pads cost 20p - 25p. It's shameful.

It's not unusual and has been the case in many areas for years.
Disabled children in my area are provided with 3 nappies/pads per day, the rest we have to buy.

This has been an issue where we are for years. Getting sufficient pads for my mum (a much younger disabled adult) a nightmare.she now has a catheter,but the nurses told us to keep the same amount as (I think 2-3 a day ration) as she is doubly incontinent and on a bad day with upset tummy we can get through tons of them.
It's exhausting having to fight for sufficient disability aids

They also have a very small standard list of products
A patient where I work legitimately cannot wear the allocated pads they don’t work for her and has been battling to try to get different ones and they keep saying no

On my experience residents have a continence assessment at carehomes to assess how many pads they will need in 24 hours, what size, what brand, what type. Some people need full nappy type pad while someone else might just need a sanitary type pad. I've never seen anyone be denied a pad if they need a fresh one, if jts just a dribble then would you change a baby nappy or wait till it was a bit more wet.

Whilst I agree that the limit is ridiculous , pads are really expensive and the lack of pads will not mean people sitting in mess it will mean that the staff will have to change the clients clothes / bedding etc rather than changing a pad , hence the increased costs of laundry which will be down to the home to pick up .

Have all the cuts to social care funding passed you by OP?

This is the tip of the iceberg.

This has been going on for years and I've even had incontinence training almost directed about not wasting pads. check for full wetness etc Worked in homes and pads were always changed on our shifts(even if there had been no accidents overnight) as we all need a freshen up and sweat. Very difficult to see it as anything other than inhumane treatment for not allocating more than that.

Health care have always worked on a budget and it always appear to the people who need it the most that suffers!

Not enough money to go around. I suppose they have to choose between cutting something like incontinence pads or something like food. Ensuring that those who can afford to pay do pay would be a good start. Scrapping the policy that allows wealthy people hide assets in their family home would be a good start.

It is horrendous. The CCG where I am actually only provides two. We had to borrow some from other facilities before then go and buy some out of our own funds as the NHS would not provide anymore even though we had had an outbreak of D&V. It is shocking it truly is.

In my area nappies for children have always been rationed. We had huge problems with one family whose severely disabled child was in nappies and the parent refused to give us any to use at school. We eventually contacted the family social worker - who intervened and made sure we got some, turned out lovely parents had been using them for the baby ( who was baby sized rather than school sized) because that's the sort of parent they were!

Have all the cuts to social care funding passed you by OP?

No, but I work in the NHS and we use them as needed. I was aware of people still in their own homes having to pay for their own supplies, but not familiar with the practices in nursing/care homes.

Will the 4 a day be an average for all residents, with some needing more some less. Are people actually going without?

My dm gets pads on prescription and has a small stockpile which goes up and down depending on how many she is using a day which can be very variable.

This has been going on for years. I've been out of care about 7 years, and it was going on back then.
Staff are pretty good at stockpiling, when someone goes into hospital or passes away, the pads are spirited away so there's always a stock of various sizes and no, we weren't supposed to, but we had to in some cases because it meant people could at least have some dignity.

Imagine the headlines as relatives arrive to visit and find their elderly loved one sitting in a shocking state as they had gone through their ration several hours earlier. What would the CQC have to say about that?

Well the staff get the blame don't they? On paper there's procedures to follow to get more pads but in reality it doesn't happen. So the front line staff get the blame and are accused of neglect. It's not just pads, a lot of essential items to care for people properly just aren't there or maintained or enough. Staff do what they can to mitigate this but it's not always enough sadly.

When my mother was in hospital earlier this year we were supplying our own pads and wipes as the ward didn’t have sufficient supply

Yes sadly true ( ex council employee )

And I should add that some families bought top up supplies too when family members ran out.

Should anyone on the thread need to buy, Aldi's pants are far, far cheaper than any others that we have found.

It is short sighted because iirc, one of the indicators here for carers not being able to cope, is having the washing machine on three times a day! What is cheaper - care by the family with sufficient incontinence products (thereby cutting down on wet bedclothes, clothes, etc); or residential care?

It was certainly one major factor for us, in asking for residential care for DD!

Funding for care is dire, and I agree the system is broken, but I’m not sure where the figure of 4 a day comes from. I used to work in a care home and it differed per person.

Also we would never have left someone in a dirty or wet pad because their allocation was up. Some residents would run out of pads before a new delivery, but we would ask their family to bring supplies in, or we would take them from the general supply of pads (eg from people who’s needs had changed or when people had died and their family donated the pads to us). We wouldn’t have left someone without, or left them uncomfortable.

When my great grandmother was in a home she got 4 a day and we provided the rest. I have no idea what would have happened if we didn't provide, left her with nothing?

It has long been like this in care facilities, whether that’s for younger or older people. Incontinance assessments only go so far- doesn’t account for when they are unwell and may need more. I remember one gentleman being unwell and we were changing him twice an hour. He was wearing a conven so the pads were for faeces. Unfortunately new medication made him unwell. So what do you do? Leave him lying in is own faeces? Or change him and use his allocated amount before breakfast? We had the care staff change him as much as he needed.

PS - I should say buying more pads was a minor part in the big picture of incontinence, which was a major factor in us, not being able to cope!