What should social services do in this situation?

[halcyondays]

If an elderly person has problems with memory and mobility, and probably depression as well and their house has got into a very bad state, where it's unsafe and unhygienic, is there anything that social services can or should be doing? they had been referrred to social services several times by doctors and the police but had not yet visited the house. The elderly person is currently in hospital and would be sessed by social services before leaving the hospital, but they would not come out to the house.

Well, ideally, SS would be coming out, assessing, and offering help if necessary.

But my parents waited nearly a year to be assessed, and then as they had money to pay for help, ss couldn't put anything into place, they had to agree to it all.
And if the person concerned doesn't want to see them, they don't have to let them in or cooperate.

They say that they won't come out to the house now, because he will be assessed before leaving hospital.

The hospital social work team should be doing an assessment before discharge along with OT's and Physio's. This should mean a home visit too. They can then sort out any problems so the patient can be discharged safely. This has to be done in agreement and working with the patient. If they refuse support then they should be making a Capacity Assessment to make sure the person understands what the impact of this means. Does that help OP?

If it isn't safe at home then someone needs to speak to the discharge team SW, maybe call gp surgery? If they have mobility issues it would be usual for occupational therapy to assess before discharge to recommend adaptations (ie. raised chair or bed height). Also the patient may claim they have more hands on support than is the reality to avoid a care package, out of fear of interference or cost.