Residential/respite care help please

puddy

as far as i know (i dont work in adults), they should do an assessment and then dependent on her need decide what payments she can have, and then she can employ her own carer (personalisation)

however, i think some imaginative thinking is called for. i wouldnt want strangers coming in to do things for me either, so what exactly can she do, you say it was one arm, can she use the other, does she need both arms to hold onto things?

think about a slow cooker, does she have a microwave that one of you could pop into hers a couple fo times a day until she gets some usage back?

can she get to the loo ok with just the one arm? what about a comode short term, i know its not a nice thought, but may be a short term solution until she gets some usage back

Madmel

Puddy that's really helpful, thank you.

She has had osteoporosis for a number of years and walked using a stick. Now she has progressed onto a zimmer or a stick in the flat. She needs both arms to lever herself up from a chair, hence her problems yesterday, she was actually stuck on the loo :eek: and couldn't get up from it.

Unfortunately it is her right arm that is affected and she is right-handed. We do some of the things suggested; she has Wiltshire Farm Foods ready meals delivered weekly and has those microwaved for lunch. For breakfast she has cereal and coffee and for her tea bread or toast with salad, sliced meat or cheese. The problem is that she can't carry the food to the table even if she could prepare it. DH works 50 miles away and we can't pop in on her twice a day - the hospital is tricky enough but because it's school holidays, I'm off with the kids. They and I are away next week on a course, so I needed suggestions.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, you have been more helpful in a couple of hours than any of the age-related websites. I'm very grateful :beer:

Errata

Madmel wrote: »

lol at the last comment, that sums her up perfectly.

Some great ideas above, many thanks. However, nobody has yet mentioned money. Do SS pay for carers give MiL has very little money (was on Income Support when DH last divulged any info to me)? How much does it cost for personal care like this?

Again, thanks in advance

This is Tamesides guide to paying for home care, it will be pretty much the same as this in other boroughs
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/homecare/charges#howmuch
Need, how it will be met and paid for will be part of the discharge assessment process. If your MIL has only her pension, plus pension credit and extremely low savings the cost to her would be minimal and would be covered by Attendance Allowance which she will need to apply for (with your help, or help from the hospital discharge service, or social service team for older people).

Errata

The problem is that she can't carry the food to the table even if she could prepare it.

Some zimmers have trays http://www.betterlifehealthcare.com/products.php?catID=6&subID=39. and an occupational therapist will be able to suggest all manner of gadgets and gizmos that will enable MIL to remain as independent as possible.

onetomany

can i ask what area you live in please? because diffrent aurforities (sorry about spelling ) have difrrent rules x

Madmel

Devon. She's in Exeter, we're in East Devon. Sorry am trying to eat a meal, hence not replying quickly...

Madmel

Update: DH has come home from visiting her and it transpires that she has fractured her elbow. No wonder her arm was numb! She is now in a partial cast (I know when I broke my ankle that sort of cast was called a back slab). She now vaguely remembers falling out of bed, but doesn't know when - she doesn't know what day it is, so I suppose it's only to be expected.

The hospital won't move her out for 48 hours because it takes that long for the plaster to harden, apparently. MiL is now stressing about who will wipe her bum when she "goes home" - I think she'll be moved to somewhere residential to convalesce before going back to her flat. DH has also spoken to her GP who said that the small cottage hospitals locally generally taken people in her condition, which suits us much better as the one he mentioned is 5 minutes away, whereas her flat is 20-30 minutes away.

The Physios and OT people will be assessing her over the weekend to determine what the best care is for her. I get the feeling that if she goes to a nice place closer to us for a month or two to recuperate, it will be a like a holiday. We are very close to the sea and if we can find somewhere with sea views...

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed. This is a brilliant site and your collective wisdom is fantastic.

Errata

That's good news it wasn't a stroke, although a broken elbow is no fun it would explain why she couldn't get herself up off the loo.

Pollycat

Madmel wrote: »

I
Her only assets are her state pension and a very small private one. We are concerned about how we and she would fund residential care, but online advice is very confusing. If anyone has any pearls of wisdom or advice, I would be very grateful, or if you could point me in the direction of impartial advice online, that would be great. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give as many details as possible to get the best advice.

Hi Madmel

I'd check out your local county council website (maybe under something like 'Adult Care') as also suggested by Errata.

On ours (Derbyshire) there's lots of stuff about personal care (e.g. help with showering) at home, plus day care centres, temporary residential care and permanent residential care.
Our local council did a budget for Dad and with our agreement put in place 30 minutes personal care 7 days a week, half day at a Day Centre twice a week plus a sitting service once a week to give Mum respite.
They also did an assessment of their flat and provided a number of aids.

Unfortunately, the arrangement didn't last long as he deteriorated pretty quickly and we had to find a residential care home for him.

I also found information on the council website about paying care home fees but the website below was very helpful for financial advice on funding residential care:
http://www.counselandcare.org.uk/finding-and-paying-for-a-care-home

They have a number of guides and factsheets and will send them to you on request.

Maybe Guide 16 will give you some idea of what you can expect if your Mum needs to go into a care home.

I hope she recovers from her broken elbow quickly.

Gleek

The hospital themselves are unfortunately confusing (or at least ours was). My grandfather fell at his home on the 9th this month and went into a&e where an xray revealed he had broken his elbow and is unable to do much for himself (80 in a couple of months).

We were promised respite by the hospital for up to 6 weeks. We were told several times that was going to happen.... and suddenly the day before we were told no - he'd be getting 4x carers a day (morning, lunch, tea and bedtime). Apparently if this fails then he can be looked at again and *perhaps* be able to get some respite time or something else. (ETA: We don't pay a thing for them and the 2 ladies are godsends Grandad's not happy but then that's nothing new sadly.)

Sorry - not very helpful but I wanted to share our side if it gives you any ideas

He has had a self-funded week in respite in June whilst we cleared his steptoe and son like house and it was £56.12 a day.