Support for elderly relative and his carer

[Miriam101]

An elderly relative has just been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's. He lives alone and has been depending on another elderly relative for help, care etc. Latter elderly relative struggles with mental health and I'm worried about them both: obviously him and what's to come, but also her and the prospect of years of an ever-growing care burden. Even now she struggles to cope and I know it's only going to get worse.

My question is: what kind of care or support are they going to be able to call on? They're not badly off, so I think would probably be able to afford some (though by no means masses of) extra help if it wasn't available via local authority. But I have no idea how to go about researching this for them.

Any experiences/tips gratefully received. Thank you.

I should add: I don't live in the same city as them and there's noone else he can call on. He's essentially been a recluse all his life.

They should get in touch with social services and ask for a care needs assessment for him and a carers assessment for her. He can apply for attendance allowance which help pays towards bills. The Alzheimers association have lots of info on their website. Now might be a good time for him to think about power of attorney, is his current accommodation suitable longterm.

www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support
www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/

@MayThePawsBeWithYou thank you so much for taking the time to reply- it's appreciated.

The Dementia UK website and their Admiral Nursing Service is also very good. If your relative is in the U.K. and have been experiencing difficulties for 6 months with their care and support needs they would be able to apply for Attendance Allowance, if they are not already in receipt of DLA or PIP. AA pays a lower or higher rate each week dependant upon the level of the persons needs. It’s not means tested and doesn’t matter if a person has savings. If the person with Dementia lives alone and are eligible for AA or receive PIP or DLA, then they would be entitled to a 100% discount on their council tax bill, an SMI form needs to be filled in from the local Council to get this. This little bits of extra money will help to fund some care needs when required. Hope this helps