Father with dementia cared for by local authority long way from me

[chocolatemonster1]

My father is being looked after by one of the London LAs. He has Korsikoff's syndrome - dementia caused by very severe and long term alcohol abuse. I'm sure you can imagine what he's been like as a father! However, I do still love him. I live in Devon. He has spent all his money on alcohol and therefore has no savings so his care is funded by the local authority. He will never be able to live independently again. He's been in care for three years. Does anyone know anything about the possibility of transferring him from London to Devon in these circumstances? I have visited him in London but I have a one and a three year old and a job and it is very difficult to get up there and visit him with them in tow. I would like him to be nearer to me. (And don't worry - years of therapy have put me in a good place re him.) I haven't thought about trying to get him moved before because I know that dementia patients do best when they stay in one place, but he's been moved recently anyway by the LA so I don't feel that that is as important a factor as it was. Thank you for any advice.

Yes we do this when the family is in a different area.
He would still be funded by the original LA which can cause complications if there are any problems as we won’t visit out of area.

Thanks so much for getting back to me. What sort of complications are there if you won't visit out of area? Sorry - I'm trying to get my head around adult care and it is so complicated!

So for example if your dad needed bespoke specialist seating / equipment the funding authority would be legally responsible and their OTs would not travel to do the assessment so there may be a row about how to assess and fund this.
Also any reviews would be carried out remotely by social work staff and they won’t know the local area he is in which can present problems if he has to be moved or if the placement is not suitable for any reason.

Thanks so much, @PamelaBanisha That's really helpful. It does sound like it could cause complications. Hmm. I just feel like he does enjoy visits from his grandchildren (as far as I can tell) and he has no friends left at all (years of extremely challenging behaviour). I'll talk to the LA and see. He's in hospital at the moment and they are trying to work out which care home to send him to next (the last one wasn't appropriate for his level of dementia) so while he's on the move seems a good time to see if he can be moved down here.

If he has years of challenging behaviour is he CHC eligible ?

Neighbouring LAs usually have an agreement in this circumstance but when there is a big distance this obviously doesn’t exist .

Unfortunately LAs are so underfunded they take every opportunity to wriggle out of their financial obligations.

I've only been talking to the nurses and care home staff until now - so I haven't got involved in his funding at all. I will find out about it now though.

Unfortunately LAs are so underfunded they take every opportunity to wriggle out of their financial obligations.

I don’t think that’s very fair when OP’s dad has spent all his money on booze if I’m honest, there’s got to be a degree of personal responsibility somewhere.

He would still be funded by the original LA which can cause complications if there are any problems as we won’t visit out of area.

Not an elderly person, but DD lives in a specialist care home, a considerable distance out of area. Our DOLS team went there to assess her last summer, and then rang me up to tell me what they thought. So I knew, they really had been!

Err, thanks for that @Cuppasoupmonster. In hindsight, it's very clear that my father suffered severe mental health issues all the way through his life, so if he had been properly supported earlier, there is a chance he wouldn't be where he is now (or costing the country a fortune). There will be lots of people out there on a similar track at the moment, and the fact that mental health support has been cut to the bone is very relevant. All very well and good talking about personal responsibility, but some people simply can't cope - and it is demonstrably true that LA's do fight pretty hard to avoid paying for stuff (from my experience with the education sector).

Oh that's helpful, @Quisquam . Thank you.

If your father lacked mental capacity to make a decision regarding where he lives, and no one has lasting power of attorney for health and welfare a best interest decision would need to be made by the social worker. This would involve considering all pros and cons of moving him to Devon. Your views would also be taken into account too. So if yours and your family's visits are important for his well-being this may well outweigh and cons such as him being unsettled/ further disoriented by a move and long journey.

As others have rightly said though, there's nothing stopping LAs placing him in a different part of the country, providing the new home can meet his needs and can be accepted onto their approved provider list, for which they need to meet certain criteria including not having a "requires improvement " CQC rating, for example.

How old is he? I doubt MH provision even existed properly when he was younger, it’s not been ‘withheld’ from him. I have sympathy for your position as my dad is an alcoholic (drunk by 11am every day, says he doesn’t have a problem, multiple health issues etc) but not for theirs if I’m honest - it’s frustrating that some people just seem to drain public resources that other people work hard to fund. What I’m saying is he’s lucky to be getting the lot for free so I think previous comments about LAs ‘shirking’ their responsibilities is deeply unfair.

Honestly, @Cuppasoupmonster, what on earth do you get out of coming on a thread like this to tell me that my father is "lucky" to be in this situation? I've asked for advice. You've got none to give. Please don't come back.
@noautumnglow Thank you, that's genuinely useful. I suppose my logic is that he's inevitably about to be disorientated by another move, so maybe the long journey is worth it.

@Cuppasoupmonster I wonder if you would be so condemnatory if he had a physical illness that was requiring expensive treatment now because at an earlier stage treatment was not available

@chocolatemonster1 I am sorry you have had shitty replies.
I have had a long career with unwell people and am glad our society has a safety net for those that need it whatever the reason.

If you have any more questions am happy to help .

well said @PamelaBanisha

It will also depend if a placement can be found in Devon that is the same cost or cheaper than one in London.

I've been trying to find a dementia placement in Devon for one of my caseload for months so she can be nearer her son which is what they both want (she still has capacity to input into where she wants to live) - but the comparable homes in Devon are much more ££. Hopefully with London prices Devon might be better value.

Good luck!

Oh that's interesting, @naturalchiller . I assume London care homes are more expensive than most, but don't know enough about it. (A lot of things seem very expensive in Devon!). I take it you're not in London?

And thank you @PamelaBanisha for your help and kind words.