My Nan is 94 and lives alone. She has short term memory loss, angina and is incontinent. She is also very unsteady on her feet and has fallen over several times which has involved ambulance being called and several hospital visits. Luckily she has never broken anything. She also frequently has dizzy spells and is on tablets for this, although they do not seem to help.
She has all the aids to help her, zimmerframe, bath/bed rails, a stair lift (although she is actually now house ridden), an emergency call button, incontinence pads, etc.
Since March this year she has had carers go in to her three times a day to give her the medication and to make her meals, clean her up, etc.
However, it has now got to the stage where this doesn?t seem to be enough. She is constantly calling my dad (her son) crying, saying that she can?t cope and doesn?t want to be alone. It is really tough on my dad as he lives on the other side of London (as do I) and it is an hour?s drive to get there. He also still works full time (he is 65 but due to finances he won?t be giving up work any time soon). I also work and have young DC?s. We feel so helpless. Moving in with my parents is not an option as they both work full time and there would be no one there during the day to care for her. Moving in with me also isn?t an option as we live in a two bed flat with DC?s and there is no space.
The carers clean her up after she has messed herself, however if this happens just after they have left she then has to wait another 4 hours for the next carer to come in, which she won?t do, so she tries to clean herself up and ends up in a right state. The last time I visited there was poo everywhere, on the floor, all over towels, her nightwear and all over her. It is not hygienic and I hate seeing her in that state.
The best solution all round I think is for her to move into a residential home. However, as she does not own her own property, social services have flatly refused due to the fact that they are unwilling to pick up the cost.
This woman was born in 1918, been through world wars, worked and paid her taxes all her life. In fact, she was still working and contributing up until the age of 70 due to the fact she loved her job so much.
It is heart breaking and I need to do something but I don?t know what?
The doctor and her carers all agree that she would be better off in a care home, but social services have the last word and they say no. Their opinion is that she can manage, but I don?t think she can. The falls are getting more frequent and she is distressed all the time, plus the hygiene issue.
When I spoke to someone from SS they said that they have worse cases than my Nan, people who are literally bed ridden and rely on carers to change them, feed them, give medication, etc.
I feel society is completely letting her and other people like her down. How can I get social services to step in and provide her with a residential place? Any advice much appreciated.
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Elderly parents
Need advice about getting my 94 year old Nan into a residential home (long)
15 replies
PoptartPoptart · 05/10/2012 17:17
OP posts:
QuickQuickSloe ·
05/10/2012 19:29
I left social work six years ago because I felt I couldn't do my job with such limited resources, it seems that they were actual golden times based on this.
I am quite shocked that her needs aren't comsidered critical.
- Are her carers provided by social services? (They could be a private agency funded by social services or their own home care)
- If not, has she had an assessment of need by social services? They have a legal duty to do so under the NHS and community care act 1990.
I am assume from your post that she has been assessed quite recently but isn't meeting their eligibility criteria. Many local authorities are only providing services to people that they assess as in critical need. It may worth asking about their eligibility criteria. If they fob you off insist under the freedom of information act.
A letter from her GP will help, as will anything from any other health professionals. Does she have any support from a memory clinic or is she under a psycho geriatrician. A letter to the director of social services from her county councillor will be very effective as will contacting her MP and getting them to weigh in.
Don't be backward in coming forward, but aim your communication at the director of social services, or the principal officer of the older people's service. The social worker dealing with your Nan's case will be powerless to produce more funding but if you believe the assessment isn't accurate insist on another one. Your Nan should be given a copy of all assessments done on her needs. This isn't a freedom of information issue but a legal requirement as part of the community care assessment process.
Finally and this is a terrible thing to say if she falls again and is admitted to hospital by ambulance insist on a hospital social work referral. Insist on a multi disciplinary assessment (including a psycho geriatrician) and refuse to support her discharge back home. It's amazing the way money for a residential placement can be found when there is a risk that an NHS bed is ging to blocked.
I' m so sorry that you and your family are being treated like this
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