Fridge camera - does it exist?

[AlwynAllWin]

My dad has dementia though is still living in his own home (on his own). He's got carers coming in 3 times a day to do meals, but somehow he's constantly running out of milk (or saying he's run out - possibly the dementia means he misses the carton?).

I don't live nearby so it's difficult to drop by for things like this, but it would be useful to see inside the fridge so I know what needs to be ordered.

Does such a fridge camera exist? There's one on Amazon and in other tech shops but it's got absolutely dire reviews. I don't need any "smart" functions to check expiry dates and so on, I just want to see what's in the fridge!

AIBU to think that a camera that would work inside a fridge must exist somewhere?

A camera outside would also reveal whether they are actually buying him milk in the first place. Or turning up every day.

You could ask his carers to see what he needs?

I advise the secret supply too
DM with Alzheimer’s has an obsession with tissues - she once rang me whilst I was on holiday 13 times in the space of an hour to ask me to go and get her done then the 14th time to say she’d found them!
we buy extra supplies of things like long life milk and tissues and can then just talk her through where they are
we also use this device for reminder her about things and to check up on her
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We are considering cameras but have privacy concerns

@KalvinPhillipsBoots as OP has already said, the carers work for an agency. From OPs experience and mine too, there are quite large numbers of carers who visit and their schedules are really unpredictable. The visits are supposed to take 20-30 minutes but it’s common that they take about 10 minutes because they have so many other people to visit and get held up. In those 10 minutes they may have to get the client out of bed, wash and dress them, prepare food and give medication and then fill in a report form with a very long checklist. Adding extra duties like checking on food supply especially for someone they have never met before is a lot to ask. You know when you read about the crisis in social care? This is the reality if it. 10 years ago things might have been different and I am sure they are now if you are wealthy and can afford continuity of care.

Providing a good supply of nutritious food for people who live with dementia at home is a really difficult thing to organise.

You should have contact for the carers. My friends do. One mum complained to her son that carers were eating her breakfast cereal. Turned out that she was right!

You should also be complaining, if they are supposed to be there for three sessions of half an hour and are not, leaving early after 10 minutes, then I would be complaining.

Cheap wifi camera pointed at the fridge. I’ve got
one for the cats when im away- I get a notification when motion is detected, it’s got infra red for nighttime and you can put a memory card in it so you can record. Was about £15.

I think you're overthinking it really. Rather than trying to time the milk orders perfetly, just over-order. How much milk is a single man getting through every week? Just get him a new 4L bottle every week and if there's any left from the previous week, it can go down the sink. Not ideal to be wasteful but better than faffing about with webcams.

@Hont1986 Quite possibly overthinking it! It seems to be such a repeat topic that it would be good to know the real situation without having to rely on others, especially my dad, who may not be the most reliable source of information!

@KalvinPhillipsBoots I think they don't really have time for extra tasks, plus as I already said, it's usually not the same person every time so it's tricky to get one job done consistently let alone a list!

@NeverDropYourMooncup There's a camera outside the front door so I know the carers are there!

@Hont1986 it doesn’t work to over order food for people with dementia. They tend to keep helping themselves to it and forgetting they have done it. My dad used to get through litres and litres of milk and orange juice. He didn’t drink it all, he would keep taking it and leaving it around the house so that it went off. You have to make sure there is just a minimum of stuff in the kitchen fridge. Hence my suggestion (which worked for my dad) was to over order but store it in another not easily accessible fridge.

Could you plug in an Amazon echo, connect it to your Alexa account and then put a note on the fridge to ask the carers to say 'Alexa add milk (or whatever else is needed) to the shopping list' if they notice it's run out?

Then you can just check your Alexa shopping list regularly to see what's needed.

Erm, a few long life milks in the cupboard maybe??

Presumably the carers are provided and not privately paid for. We have a number of companies nearby that offer more of a Home Help/companion service that you pay for. Would this be worth looking into to supplement the carers.

This is a great idea.

@AlwynAllWin ,

Right now it may be for simple things like checking on the milk situation (as well as other things that are outside of the carers duty) but also would be able to give you ‘eyes on the ground’ to make sure you have another view of your father and how things are.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to mention it earlier but an Alexa with video would be perfect for this situation, as another poster mentioned. Set it up with a good view of the fridge, drop in or have your dad or a carer ‘call you’ tell them to open the fridge and job done. If you’re going to do this I’d set it up and help him with it when you are there. Then leave a list of basic commands. You can even set up reminders and announcements for him. (I’ve made longer posts describing how I’ve set this for my mother who was in a rehab home after her cancer diagnosis and our old neighbors if you want to search for some ideas). It works very well with people who have cognitive issues or are otherwise unreliable about answering a phone for whatever reason with the ‘drop in’ feature.

Crud… hit post too soon.

One last thought. When I was responsible for my dying mother from afar, one thing I learned the hard way was that I was always trying fix the immediate need, once I realized I needed to plan for the next stage things got a little easier. Today your father’s milk is the problem to solve, but tomorrow it’s going to be something else. It may be worth some of your time to research some of the Dementia resources as there are some common symptoms as you’ve found here with other’s experiences.

@saltinesandcoffeecups Thanks for the tips! Yes, I'll look into supplementary care in the area.

It's difficult to anticipate what the next thing will be! I think a carer overnight is the next step probably, before a live-in carer maybe. Care homes seem very expensive, but might be a better choice, it's hard to know

I'm sorry your going through this.
I will let you no of my own experience.of course it might differ but it might help.
So for us the disappearing food and asking for more was a huge huge indicator of the next rung down and the start of the incredibly traumatic decline.
Not knowing where it's gone.needing more.franticly needing more.
The milk will be left out or being poi red down the sink.dont ask him why he will know and he won't.but he worn ever tell you.
We had neighbours being called to buy loaf after loaf of bread. We had 14 calls that she needed more bread.
We found all the bread wrapped in newspaper In the dustbin. Why.no idea. Did she ever own up no.
We got a ring camera to start for outer to let carers in and just keep an eye.we quickly moved to getting one of these attached inside.lounge.kitchen.and it alerts and records when there is movement(you can turn this off) we saw her hiding.lying.we saw too much of this fucking disease.but in the end it saved us too. When she was calling screaming the carers hadn't been.that she was on the floor.or that she had no food.we could see this was all lies. And it meant we weren't frantically traveling down every night. On the 14th screaming call that she needed help.we new she was fine.and actually it was the curtains she wanted shutting.
When told the carers were there for slotted time we also saw they aren't but make of that what you will.
But the hiding of food was a big indicator for us.
And camera vital. No you do have water.you.have been to the loo.ypu have been and grabbed a cake.when she said she was starving in bed etc.
Was it ideal.was itnoften painful to see.yes.so try not to watch more than you have to. But you end up needing to.
For us it was then a terrible year.a horrific 6months and then a traumatic month before she was taken into care.
I would advice you to try and be ahead. So can you research next steps. Homes I the area.even go see them.fundimg? Love incare.get it before you need it as you suddenly need it!
Be supported.
You will always always need to push for care. Like stamp your feet push.
If you need anything don't hesitate to ask.i can't say I can be helpful only on what we went through.
Hope your ok.xx

@kateandme Thanks very much for your perspective! Sounds like you went through a really difficult time Thanks for the tips and advice. I think I'll chat to other family members about indoor cameras as it would probably be useful if things decline like you say. I'll also look into homes and so on. Hard to be a step ahead when you don't know where you're going!

I get that.but one thing you do no is that it IS going that way.sonat least this way you will be ready. Or you will feel more ready.
It's really easy to get the cameras.highly recommend the ring ones.