Parent sectioned

[Whistlesandbell]

Has anyone’s parent been sectioned and what happened after the 28 days?

Not parent but grandparent but I was her main carer. They discovered she had an antibiotic resistant urinary infection which was really affecting her mind and making her dementia worse (vascular dementia). She was wandering round asdas thinking it should be Willie lows and in the car park looking for her Datsun which she wrote off in 1988, she didn’t recognise herself, she didn’t know where she lived, she kept calling me my aunties name. They got the urine infection under control after five tries and different antibiotics then moved her to a geriatric ward for dementia until she could get a care package in place. She got home after 4 months of effectively bedblocking with carers twice a day then caught covid and died at home just over a week later. Sorry. That’s probably not the positive outcome you were looking for.

I am sorry, that is very sad.

My DM was sectioned in April 2015 but we didn’t have POA. My DF died in different ward of same hospital in June 2015. She was moved to a community hospital in July 2015 but remained there until Dec 2015 when we got POA.
Section extended after 28 days. Took about 10 weeks to get her medication right but she managed to break her wrist. She had four plaster casts in about ten days as picked them off.
tbh family relieved when DM was safe and under section as we got a rest.

MIL has mixed dementia, was sectioned in the summer and was moved onto Section 3 after the 28 day assessment period. She doesn't seem to be any better or more manageable to me, though there are brief periods when she's less agitated, just as there were before she was admitted. There have been hints around moving her on, but what that might look like hasn't been decided. Or if it has, we haven't been told about it. I'm sure communication with the family isn't a clinical priority, but it is frustrating to be left in the dark in spite of visiting every day. It's hard to guess. The patients who are on the same ward now are broadly speaking the same ones that we've been seeing all along. So on that unit at least, I'd say medium to long term stays seem quite usual.

With hindsight my Dad should have been sectioned, and it would have made our lives much easier if he had been.

I do recall reading on a previous thread on here, that once someone has been sectioned then the Local Authority should not charge them care fees going forward, but unfortunately I can't remember the actual details, maybe someone else will know.

After 28 days the doctors need to decide to either let them go home / stay in hospital without a section if they are willing and need to or put a section 3 in place (this can last basically forever with regular reviews but can also be ended at any time - by Drs / hospital managers / tribunal).

Anyone who has been on section 3 should get 117 aftercare, this can pay for care packages / care homes as long as the need to be there is due to the MH issue that caused the section. 117 aftercare is funded by the NHS / local authority.

Hope you are ok OP, most hospitals have family and carer teams who can support you and answer questions.

@Whistlesandbell I can confirm we did not pay care fees until DM left the nhs community hospital and the section ended.

I can also confirm that seven years' hence my DM is still alive and needs no medication for her dementia/ MH, and was weaned off tablets within the first year. She is calm and as happy as anyone could be in the circumstances.
However, DM lost much of her sparkle and 100% of her independence in April 2015. She has survived but not thrived. It's a strange time for the family.
If you DM has just gone into the MH unit, I urge you to get some rest and take some time just to process what's gone on before.

My parent was sectioned 2 weeks ago, they have dementia and it wasn’t safe for them to remain at home. They are doing well in the hospital, they think there’s a fair chance the section 2 will change to a section 3 at the end of the 28 days.
Thank you to all of you for replying.