Carers refusing to care for child!

[legalseagull]

Help!

7 year old relative with sever disability and life limiting illness. cognitively he's like a newborn 😢 He needs 24/7 care, oxygen and monitoring over night. His dad has just tested positive for CV and is isolating in his bedroom. His mum is now showing symptoms. The care agency aren't sending any more carers as they're refusing to come in the house - despite being trained and having PPE. What on earth they do?! Mum needs rest as it looks likes she's got it too. She shouldn't be in contact with the sick child at all and probably won't be well enough to look after him soon.

I have no idea what they can do and who will look after him!! Thank god doctors and nurses don't just refuse to go to work.

People are over-estimating the help that is actually available for people in this situation. Its shit at the best of times but during covid it is practically non-existent. Yes there should be plans in place for these types of situation but the reality is that support just isn't there when the shit hits the fan. Places that have the facilities to cope with severe disabilities are limited. Then there's been rules that they can only take 1 person at a time. Lockdown and covid has placed more pressure on carers so demand has gone up. There is no slack in the system at all and our vulnerable and their families are having to deal with unbearable pressure.

“People are over-estimating the help that is actually available for people in this situation. Its shit at the best of times but during covid it is practically non-existent.“

I’m not, but we did at least start having conversations with the CCG months ago, about what would happen to DD, if we were too ill with Covid 19 to look after her. She has Continuing Health Care Funding; she is not funded by SS.

This is just the kind of situation that the folk that won't wear a mask or abide by the rules need to know about. There are people out there who are uniquely vulnerable and need to be protected. I really hope he's doing okay, as are his parents. It's a level of stress I am sure they don't need.

People like Lee Hurst, the comedian who is on twitter boasting about refusing to wear a mask should be ashamed of themselves. The sentiments are sorely misplaced in my opinions.

This is what happens when we outsource care and pay people as if it is a menial and unimportant job - why would we then be surprised if they treat it like that and opt out when it doesn’t suit? I hope at the end of this pandemic the things, people and professions we value have changed.

The trouble is from the agency's perspective it's too risky sending their staff in. They are not supplied with the full PPE that They use for covid patients in hospitals. They may have 20-30 other clients to protect. It's not like carers can shower and change between clients.
They probably said to the carers you can go in but you won't be able to go into anyone else. Most carers are paid by the hour often on zero hours contracts. They can't afford to risk it.

@DarkMintChocolate

“People are over-estimating the help that is actually available for people in this situation. Its shit at the best of times but during covid it is practically non-existent.“

I’m not, but we did at least start having conversations with the CCG months ago, about what would happen to DD, if we were too ill with Covid 19 to look after her. She has Continuing Health Care Funding; she is not funded by SS.

We had a plan with the CCG for my brother. He was in a similar situation but he lives in supported living and the care company refused to provide care. My parents had to provide care for him and were told to call an ambulance if they couldn't cope. Eventually some temporary (and blooming brilliant carers) travelled 130 miles (each way) every day to help. There was a possibility of respite care 200 miles away but then that fell through. After many weeks, and hours of safeguarding meetings, we've eventually got a new place where he can get care. But only for 3 months- there's no indication of what will happen after that.

You might have a plan- but our experience was it was impossible to action it in the current environment. No respite available, even in the short term to take him out of an environment the CCG recognised was an urgent and significant risk to him.

To be fair to the staff, they are possibly on minimum wage (and often not paid for travel time between clients) and are understandbly not going to want to go into a house with 2 confirmed covid cases.
There should ahve been a contingency plan in place though.

@compulsiveliar2019

The trouble is from the agency's perspective it's too risky sending their staff in. They are not supplied with the full PPE that They use for covid patients in hospitals. They may have 20-30 other clients to protect. It's not like carers can shower and change between clients. They probably said to the carers you can go in but you won't be able to go into anyone else. Most carers are paid by the hour often on zero hours contracts. They can't afford to risk it.

They can shower and change as they do a shift in the house and then go home. I have sympathy that they don't want to go in to a house with CV but there should be a contingency and they just wasn't. They were assured at the start of all this that they would always have carers. No one expected the carers to just refuse to come. The problem is worse because family and friends can't help. He has specialist (and intimate) equipment that requires training to use. It's not a case of just jumping in the car to babysit.

@HoneysuckIejasmine

I could understand a "what if both parents are ill?" contingency, but not a "what if both parents are ill and the carers refuse to provide their contractual obligations?"

Exactly