Part time 'carer' so my mum gets a break...?

[PollyPerky]

I don't know if such people exist but ...

my dad has mild cognitive disorder (not dementia but severe memory loss and some confusion) and he has other illnesses too.

My mum gets out roughly once every 2 weeks for between 1-2 hours (WI and coffee with a friend) but I know she'd like to leave him a bit more but feels he's unsafe on his own. He refuses to have an personal alarm. he doesn't need personal care for that time , just someone to make sure he doesn't fall over or uses the hob etc and leaves it on.

Is there any way she could get someone to come and sit with him? He's not very sociable and of course the person would have to be 100% trustworthy which is a huge issue for them.

Are there any charities who do this or is it something we could sort privately?

Many years ago I did voluntary work and sat with a man while his wife went to keep fit once a week.

I suggest contacting the Red Cross. They have volunteers and also maybe able to put you in touch with other organisations.

One of the things they do is 'home not hospital' on the basis that providing help prevents hospital admissions.

Yes, you could look for a 'companionship carer' - either through an agency or privately. My mum is the one with dementia, and though they have a carer they also have a cleaner (who the carer found) who will keep an eye on mum when dads out - either she cleans and mum 'helps' or she takes mum out, or she's just there.

For a bit they had an AgeUK volunteer who would take mum out, but it was a limited time thing - only 6 months at 1 hour a fortnight.