Mum in hospital - advice needed

Morglin · 25 January 2014 at 10:24AM

We did a 3 hour assessment with the NHS, only to be told, at the end, that they had already made a decision, and that SSD would have to mainly fund it - what a waste of time....:mad:

The 'patient' has to be virtually dead before the NHS will accept financial responsibility and despite mum needing everything done for her, she didn't qualify.

So, we paid some, from her pensions etc., and SSD paid the rest, which came to a lot as the homes fees were nearly £1000 per week, which seems a lot, even for London.

They all want their last pound of flesh....

Lin :wall:

downshifter98 · 25 January 2014 at 11:47AM

Mum is based in London and £1,000 per week seems to be about the going rate. I'm pretty cynical myself regarding CHC which is why we never asked for it (Mum has already been assessed twice by SS and has care in the home paid for), however this is a lady who is 71 years of age who is bed bound, doubly incontinent, can't feed herself (indeed can't do anything for herself), has serious bed sores, struggles to communicate and can only eat 'soft' food (the hospital tried to insist on a liquid diet but we disagreed) so if she doesn't qualify then I really don't know who would; they can't even use old age as an excuse (yet) as Mum is relatively young and this is all caused by her rheumatoid arthritis. We will see but main thing is Mum is cared for as well as possible.

margaretclare · 25 January 2014 at 1:43PM

I am the last person to say that hospital/nursing-home care is better than home care. I loved working as a community nurse/midwife - there are so many advantages to being at home. Number one: you're not exposed to infections brought in by other people, of which there are many more than there used to be due to the growth of resistance to commonly-used antibiotics. I also loved delivering babies at home. Relaxing in your own bed afterwards with no one coming in to turn overhead lights on and disturb you - great.

That said, it's this 2-hourly turning which mainly worries me. I have not known that done successfully in the home. I don't say it can't be done, I am just unsure about the logistics of having people come in during the night-time to do it.

For an 'older' person, and I mean 'older than' rather than 'old', it can be very easy to become institutionalised in hospital. I would imagine, though, that this is the least of the OP's worries. I wish you well.

mumps · 25 January 2014 at 4:22PM

When my uncle was very ill he refused to go into a nursing home, supported by my aunt. All the family felt he needed nursing care, his doctor agreed but they wouldn't do it. When I talked to his social worker she said it was up to him and my aunt, no one could force them as he had mental capacity. I don't know if anyone knows any different but my point is if my uncle's social worker was right it doesn't actually matter what anyone else thinks, they won't take her into a home against her will. Of course if the OP's mother doesn't have mental capacity it is a different matter.

I can see both sides of this, when my uncle was ill we wanted him to be safe and well cared for and my aunt to be supported but for myself I hate the thought of ending my days in a nursing home and think I would have to be sectioned to get me into one.

SandraScarlett · 25 January 2014 at 4:30PM

My Mum was in a nursing home for 7 years, and was self funding. It cost £1750 a month, 18 years ago! I know that if my husband goes into a home (he is physically disabled as well as having advanced Alzheimer's) it will cost close to £1500 per week.

I can see that I will have to get an early morning paper round to help fund this!!

xx

cattermole · 25 January 2014 at 9:29PM

Morglin wrote: »

We did a 3 hour assessment with the NHS, only to be told, at the end, that they had already made a decision, and that SSD would have to mainly fund it - what a waste of time....:mad:

The 'patient' has to be virtually dead before the NHS will accept financial responsibility and despite mum needing everything done for her, she didn't qualify.

So, we paid some, from her pensions etc., and SSD paid the rest, which came to a lot as the homes fees were nearly £1000 per week, which seems a lot, even for London.

They all want their last pound of flesh....

Lin :wall:

It all depends on the assessor that is the problem. And regardless of the above ANY nursing element should be funded what they normally wriggle out of is the CHC. They bank on families not appealing it, and the decision is very iffy and open to interpretation.

To challenge you do need to read and know the Criteria and the scoring system and for many families in time of criss it isn't easy to get your head around it.

But it isn't that difficult and all the data is readily available on scoring. The main thing you have to home in on is a fluctuating condition/situation and that is what will swing it!

Sadly thought the reality is that the NHS doesn't have the funding to provide CHC for everyone who really should be on it.

It isn't likely to get better or change either. One of the reasons they won't merge Social Care and Health which in my opinion should have been done years ago and take it out of LA control is to do with funding and the principal that the NHS is free. So we would need to have a different system in order to fund it.

It really scares me care for the future and how it is all going to pan out, sadly the best years have gone

cattermole · 25 January 2014 at 9:31PM

SandraScarlett wrote: »

My Mum was in a nursing home for 7 years, and was self funding. It cost £1750 a month, 18 years ago! I know that if my husband goes into a home (he is physically disabled as well as having advanced Alzheimer's) it will cost close to £1500 per week.

I can see that I will have to get an early morning paper round to help fund this!!

xx

Very worrying for you and my thoughts are with you.

cattermole · 25 January 2014 at 9:34PM

mumps wrote: »

When my uncle was very ill he refused to go into a nursing home, supported by my aunt. All the family felt he needed nursing care, his doctor agreed but they wouldn't do it. When I talked to his social worker she said it was up to him and my aunt, no one could force them as he had mental capacity. I don't know if anyone knows any different but my point is if my uncle's social worker was right it doesn't actually matter what anyone else thinks, they won't take her into a home against her will. Of course if the OP's mother doesn't have mental capacity it is a different matter.

I can see both sides of this, when my uncle was ill we wanted him to be safe and well cared for and my aunt to be supported but for myself I hate the thought of ending my days in a nursing home and
think I would have to be sectioned to get me into one.

Absolutely should be his decision but the point is that "nursing care" can be provided in someone's own home and should be if that is their wish. The Social Worker and the GP should have arranged the appropriate care in his own home if that was what was needed and if they didn't try and facilitate this then they were failing in their duty of care to him.

margaretclare · 26 January 2014 at 11:22AM

I think most people would prefer to be in their own home whenever possible or for as long as possible. I certainly would, and so would others who have commented on this thread. What worries me about this particular scenario, though, is the 2-hour turning. I have done one-to-one night care in someone's own home, but I could not have done 2-hourly turning of a helpless patient single-handedly. In the cases I can call to mind, the patient was nowhere near as helpless as the OP's mother. Physically, it just isn't possible.

Morglin · 26 January 2014 at 11:55AM

At the home my mum was in, they did (two handed) turn her throughout the night - no signs of a bedsore (unlike the hospital she had been in....:mad:)

Going into a home or not very much depends on who can do the care stuff - my dad was 85 and frail, and to be honest, the carers etc., coming in were often worse than useless.

Dad couldn't have turned her, or cared for her as well as the home did - they had staff, including nursing staff, on duty 24/7.

Lin

Mum in hospital - advice needed

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