Would I be eligible to register as a carer?

[spacechimp]

My lovely DF died 2 years ago and since then DM has not been doing well. She is now 82 and increasingly frail, doesn’t eat well, drinks far too much alcohol, is socially withdrawn (definitely depressed and anxious but also some memory loss but not been assessed and won’t go to the GP for memory problems or depression/anxiety). She can mostly look after herself but she’s had a few incidents recently with her physical health and is now reluctant to go out and needs more help and support

My sister lives locally and goes to see her a couple of times a week. DM calls her each day. I go and spend the weekend with her every month or so, and make sure I can be there when my sister is away. I’ve just spent 4 days there as my sister is on holiday, doing DM’s shopping and helping with her medication, calling the GP and hospital on her behalf. We have POA all set up for finances and registered for health but not yet used it. I’ll be back at work the rest of this week and then back at DM’s at the weekend.

A friend told me I should register as a carer with my GP but I’m not sure I’d be eligible as I’m only in that role some of the time. I think my sister should definitely register as most of the responsibilities fall on her. I’d be grateful for advice from others in similar situations

No
You nor your sister privide 35 hours a week care
Your mother would also have to be in receipt of certain benefits

That's for carers allowance, to register as a carer with the GP you need to provide care to a family member and the person you provide it for needs to be unable to cope without your support.

Is your mum receiving Attendance Allowance? It sounds as though she might be eligible for the lower rate.

Ah, I see
I think it would be easier for you both to get an lpoa for health and welfare tbh
www.gov.uk
Costs £83 iirc
Drs won't really accept you just saying you're a carer (bitter experience)

How bad is the memory loss?

You could register as a carer with your gp. You wouldn't get much though. I get a free covid jab and a free flu jab and that's it. You wouldn't get carers allowance unless you are caring for at least 35 hours a week and the person being cared for gets certain disability benefits.

I’m not sure why you would need to register with your gp as a carer? You have the LPA set up that’s the main thing for your mum, the registration with your GP would be only in your own records. Personally I would expect more regular care than once a month and an occasional cover to be termed a carer. Possibly your sister could if she’s doing it twice a week and daily calls but it really depends if your mum could not do without the help at all

Thanks; that’s kind of what I thought. We have LPA for finances which I now take responsibility for. We have the health LPA registered but not yet used it as she technically has capacity - though she can’t/won’t make decisions about anything and gets very muddled so one of us has to go with her to medical appointments.

Her short term memory is pretty bad. Had a phone call about an hour ago expecting me back tonight despite discussing several times earlier today that I had to go back home to go to work tomorrow. Very forgetful, and terrible with dates and arrangements but not forgetting words or (yet) how to do things. But very stressed and anxious about using equipment, dealing with finances which is why we’re using the finances LPA to make it easier for her

If we didn’t see her and spend time with her, get her shopping etc she couldn’t cope on her own - but it’s really hard to work out to what extent this is due to a cognitive issue or depression/anxiety

Taken from Carers Support Centre

Telling your GP

Let your GP know that you are a carer and ask if this could be registered on your medical record. All GP practices will have a carer registration form. As a carer you are entitled to a free flu vaccination and your surgery may also offer the following:

• some flexibility with appointment times, for both yourself and/or the person you care for to accommodate your caring situation
• agreement to share information about the condition of the person you care for (with their consent)

Attendance allowance

Our LA has a carer support service, with chat sessions, training sessions, advice etc. Just needs self declaration.

For GP, I wrote a letter which my Dad signed asking that they share his medical info with me. It means I also have access to his on-line record, and now he’s in a nursing home I can see what medications he’s been prescribed.