[Help] Care For The Elderly in Home

[Since1982]

My 85 year old dad, who has very poor eyesight, restricted mobility and who fell and broke his hip last Saturday is being discharged from PRH Hayward’s Heath into the care of my 85 year mum on Monday afternoon with no care or support as there is “nothing available”. Apart from my frustration at the abject state of care provision in this country, are there any recommendations for private providers who can offer help with washing, overseeing physio, possible overnight supervision etc? Has anyone else had to navigate through the NHS machine to get help? Thanks.

 

[giveusfalmerplease]

My 85 year old dad, who has very poor eyesight, restricted mobility and who fell and broke his hip last Saturday is being discharged from PRH Hayward’s Heath into the care of my 85 year mum on Monday afternoon with no care or support as there is “nothing available”. Apart from my frustration at the abject state of care provision in this country, are there any recommendations for private providers who can offer help with washing, overseeing physio, possible overnight supervision etc? Has anyone else had to navigate through the NHS machine to get help? Thanks.

sorry to hear about your situation - my dad is only a few years younger and im now having to live at home to keep an eye on him. One thing you can look into , from a financial perspective is "Carers allowance" and "Attendance Allowance" both from HMRC. Carers should get paid to your mother and attendance allowance can be claimed by your father. i gather its not much, about £65 a week, but once you get it , it paves the way for additional benefits like council tax deduction. see here:
https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

Then theres attendance allowance, see here: https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance .not sure if this applies for a short-term disability but its another £60 a week so between the 2 amounts to £500 a month so worth applying.

 

[Weststander]

From MrsW - NHS clinical nurse specialist (ex nursing homes too):

1. Make it very clear to the hospital (the senior ward person) that if he leaves, he will likely bounce straight back in. Can he not go into what is called a step down bed in either a nursing home/community hospital (funded by nhs) until care support is set up?

2. Over this weekend, ask the nurses to complete nights logs. If he’s getting up in the night with help, it’s completely inappropriate to go home before rehab and unfair on your mum to manage him. If he is getting up, this puts him at high risk of another fall.

3. Following a fractured hip he should receive ongoing rehab from a physio and occupational therapy anyway to assess his home environment and the need for any equipment around the home. It’s completely counter productive to send him home before he can manage. The need is to keep him safe thus preventing another admission.

4. Rapid responsive teams (will need a referral from the ward) can support discharges.

5. A private company which is very good is Home Instead, but sadly they would need to assess him which will take time.

Good luck and keep nsc posted if you want.

 

[franks brother]

PM sent

 

[Since1982]

sorry to hear about your situation - my dad is only a few years younger and im now having to live at home to keep an eye on him. One thing you can look into , from a financial perspective is "Carers allowance" and "Attendance Allowance" both from HMRC. Carers should get paid to your mother and attendance allowance can be claimed by your father. i gather its not much, about £65 a week, but once you get it , it paves the way for additional benefits like council tax deduction. see here:
https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

Then theres attendance allowance, see here: https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance .not sure if this applies for a short-term disability but its another £60 a week so between the 2 amounts to £500 a month so worth applying.

Good steer. Many thanks.

 

[Since1982]

From MrsW - NHS clinical nurse specialist (ex nursing homes too):

1. Make it very clear to the hospital (the senior ward person) that if he leaves, he will likely bounce straight back in. Can he not go into what is called a step down bed in either a nursing home/community hospital (funded by nhs) until care support is set up?

2. Over this weekend, ask the nurses to complete nights logs. If he’s getting up in the night with help, it’s completely inappropriate to go home before rehab and unfair on your mum to manage him. If he is getting up, this puts him at high risk of another fall.

3. Following a fractured hip he should receive ongoing rehab from a physio and occupational therapy anyway to assess his home environment and the need for any equipment around the home. It’s completely counter productive to send him home before he can manage. The need is to keep him safe thus preventing another admission.

4. Rapid responsive teams (will need a referral from the ward) can support discharges.

5. A private company which is very good is Home Instead, but sadly they would need to assess him which will take time.

Good luck and keep nsc posted if you want.

Hugely helpful. Many thanks.

 

[LamieRobertson]

My 85 year old dad, who has very poor eyesight, restricted mobility and who fell and broke his hip last Saturday is being discharged from PRH Hayward’s Heath into the care of my 85 year mum on Monday afternoon with no care or support as there is “nothing available”. Apart from my frustration at the abject state of care provision in this country, are there any recommendations for private providers who can offer help with washing, overseeing physio, possible overnight supervision etc? Has anyone else had to navigate through the NHS machine to get help? Thanks.

That sounds awful….my late father spent two months in hospital last year and whilst I found the people were great, the system was crap.
Have you spoken with social services? I went straight to them prior to Dad going into hospital…ironically a care package was about to start the day he went in and was subsequently cancelled…made it clear to hospital staff that we needed help looking after him, which was granted, in the end!
Surely with what’s happened you should be getting support ..Westender has given some good advice and I wish you all the best.


Responsive Services should get involved…they involve physios….district nurses etc
Like West said he should really be going to either a care home or community hospital as part of his rehabilitation

 

[Since1982]

That sounds awful….my late father spent two months in hospital last year and whilst I found the people were great, the system was crap.
Have you spoken with social services? I went straight to them prior to Dad going into hospital…ironically a care package was about to start the day he went in and was subsequently cancelled…made it clear to hospital staff that we needed help looking after him, which was granted, in the end!
Surely with what’s happened you should be getting support ..Westender has given some good advice and I wish you all the best.


Responsive Services should get involved…they involve physios….district nurses etc
Like West said he should really be going to either a care home or community hospital as part of his rehabilitation

Thanks. I specifically asked for a referral to Responsive Services today and the feedback was it wasn’t needed for which I read “we are overwhelmed” He had a small stroke in June and it nearly broke mum looking after him then, this feels much worse. Will keep on with the battle.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Thanks. I specifically asked for a referral to Responsive Services today and the feedback was it wasn’t needed for which I read “we are overwhelmed” He had a small stroke in June and it nearly broke mum looking after him then, this feels much worse. Will keep on with the battle.

Ouch……sometimes you have to push a bit, if you get what I mean, which is quite hard to do when it’s the very people who you are asking for help from

 

[Half Time Pies]

My 85 year old dad, who has very poor eyesight, restricted mobility and who fell and broke his hip last Saturday is being discharged from PRH Hayward’s Heath into the care of my 85 year mum on Monday afternoon with no care or support as there is “nothing available”. Apart from my frustration at the abject state of care provision in this country, are there any recommendations for private providers who can offer help with washing, overseeing physio, possible overnight supervision etc? Has anyone else had to navigate through the NHS machine to get help? Thanks.

I am sorry to hear this, it must be an extremely stressful time for you and your family. People being prematurely discharged from hospital is an all too common problem even during normal times however the social care sector is suffering at the moment, and in the middle of a staffing crisis, so care packages will be difficult to put together and hospital staff will be under huge pressure to free up beds for the winter period and particularly with COVID numbers increasing https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58997811

Having said all that its very important that your Dad isn't discharged without adequate care in place and a proper assessment of his mobility as this would be a risk not just to him but also to your family.

In terms of private providers you can find independent reviews of home care providers on https://www.homecare.co.uk - (make sure you change the filter to highest review score rather than default and look at the number of reviews and not just the review score).

All providers are also regulated and inspected by the CQC and you can find the inspection ratings as well as reports on the CQC website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/services-we-regulate/find-services-offering-care-home

In general steer clear of any providers that are requires improvement and try to go for those rated Good or Outstanding, ideally in all areas. You may need to ring around a few though before you find one with capacity.

 

[Half Time Pies]

From MrsW - NHS clinical nurse specialist (ex nursing homes too):

1. Make it very clear to the hospital (the senior ward person) that if he leaves, he will likely bounce straight back in. Can he not go into what is called a step down bed in either a nursing home/community hospital (funded by nhs) until care support is set up?

2. Over this weekend, ask the nurses to complete nights logs. If he’s getting up in the night with help, it’s completely inappropriate to go home before rehab and unfair on your mum to manage him. If he is getting up, this puts him at high risk of another fall.

3. Following a fractured hip he should receive ongoing rehab from a physio and occupational therapy anyway to assess his home environment and the need for any equipment around the home. It’s completely counter productive to send him home before he can manage. The need is to keep him safe thus preventing another admission.

4. Rapid responsive teams (will need a referral from the ward) can support discharges.

5. A private company which is very good is Home Instead, but sadly they would need to assess him which will take time.

Good luck and keep nsc posted if you want.

Great advice and good home care provider recommendation!

 

[Since1982]

I am sorry to hear this, it must be an extremely stressful time for you and your family. People being prematurely discharged from hospital is an all too common problem even during normal times however the social care sector is suffering at the moment, and in the middle of a staffing crisis, so care packages will be difficult to put together and hospital staff will be under huge pressure to free up beds for the winter period and particularly with COVID numbers increasing https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58997811

Having said all that its very important that your Dad isn't discharged without adequate care in place and a proper assessment of his mobility as this would be a risk not just to him but also to your family.

In terms of private providers you can find independent reviews of home care providers on https://www.homecare.co.uk - (make sure you change the filter to highest review score rather than default and look at the number of reviews and not just the review score).

All providers are also regulated and inspected by the CQC and you can find the inspection ratings as well as reports on the CQC website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/services-we-regulate/find-services-offering-care-home

In general steer clear of any providers that are requires improvement and try to go for those rated Good or Outstanding, ideally in all areas. You may need to ring around a few though before you find one with capacity.

Helpful. Many thanks.

 

[Iron Butterfly]

As LR says, he is entitled to a social care assessment by Social Services (either from your local office, Oaklands in HH?) or from a hospital based social worker. You should be involved in this as a 'carer' and you are also entitled to a 'Carers needs assessment'. The social care assessment should clarify what type and level of support is needed, even if you end up having to pay for it yourself if you are above the financial threshold for support.
Good luck and stay strong!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

If he has private means or capital above the minimum limit (£20k but not sure) Adult Social Care will do precisely nothing to help. Utterly useless service, which is designed to pauperise people.

Does he get Personal Independence Payment which is not means tested - if not make sure he applies for it. Upper limit is about £600 a month. https://www.gov.uk/pip

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I used these guys for my recently departed Mum - https://hallifaxcare.co.uk/

Very good and the day she had a stroke ( which ended up killing her ) it was the carer that phoned 999 and stayed five times longer that she was meant to ensure Mum got into the ambulance. The carer also phoned me straight after 999.

 

[Since1982]

I used these guys for my recently departed Mum - https://hallifaxcare.co.uk/

Very good and the day she had a stroke ( which ended up killing her ) it was the carer that phoned 999 and stayed five times longer that she was meant to ensure Mum got into the ambulance. The carer also phoned me straight after 999.

Thanks. I'll add them to the list. Already waiting on contact from Home Instead and Bluebird. So sorry to hear about your Mum.

 

[Since1982]

If he has private means or capital above the minimum limit (£20k but not sure) Adult Social Care will do precisely nothing to help. Utterly useless service, which is designed to pauperise people.

Does he get Personal Independence Payment which is not means tested - if not make sure he applies for it. Upper limit is about £600 a month. https://www.gov.uk/pip

That's been our experience with my father in law. Will look into PIP. Appreciate the input.

 

[Since1982]

As LR says, he is entitled to a social care assessment by Social Services (either from your local office, Oaklands in HH?) or from a hospital based social worker. You should be involved in this as a 'carer' and you are also entitled to a 'Carers needs assessment'. The social care assessment should clarify what type and level of support is needed, even if you end up having to pay for it yourself if you are above the financial threshold for support.
Good luck and stay strong!

Thanks. Fortunate to have other family members close by to share some of the load.

 

[dazzer6666]

Pal of mine went to a private agency in Worthing last week to get some care help at weekends for his elderly mother - was very bluntly told there’s none available and won’t be for the foreseeable future - simply don’t have the staff to meet demand.

Hope you get something sorted - some great advice above. My daughter’s chief bugbear on the DME ward is having to discharge patients into clearly inappropriate settings, knowing full well they’ll come straight back.

 

[BLOCK F]

Thanks. I'll add them to the list. Already waiting on contact from Home Instead and Bluebird. So sorry to hear about your Mum.

Bluebird were very good with my parents and also my wife’s mum.
Hope all goes well for you.