Cost of home care for 88 year old

missile

cepheus wrote: »

At times like this, no doubt costs become a secondary concern.

Not to the service provider ...

John_Pierpoint

fogartyblue. wrote: »

Thanks it is.

Dad worked hard all of his life and they eventually paid off the mortgage.

Now mum is left on her own not really knowing whether their home will be there for her. Approx £50,000 a year is being taken off the value of their home. In three years time they will have wiped off about £260,000 of equity and there will be about £23,000 left in value - then we have been told dad will have to move as the council will not fund the amount we are paying.
We just hope and pray that the council will not force a sale whilst mum is alive.
Fun and games to come.

It does sometimes feel that there is no point in saving or buying your own home, as the leeches will eventually take it back from them and us.

Is the house entirely in dad's name?
We can go round and round the houses on the morality of all this, but the council cannot steal someone else's half of the house. They also have to wait until the dependant other half vacates the property before they can exercise the "charge" they have put on the property at the Land Registry.

cepheus

Mum seems to be a lot more alert after a stent was fitted to open up her blocked bile duct last Wednesday which was causing jaundice. Obviously it is a temporary respite, and she is still requires morphine for pain, and is too weak to walk. Surprisingly the consultant implied in his notes that he was thinking of moving her out of hospital, I assumed she would be there for several weeks if not months.

I will have to start looking around nursing homes in the area. Do local authorities treat the costs of nursing homes any different than residential homes, particularly with regard to savings limits? (she doesn't own a house).

clemmatis

I suggest you ask AgeUK -- and a hospital-based social worker, but please, cross-check what they say -- about your mother's rights, and the discharge process, and any eligibility she may have for funding for nursing care. AgeUK will explain the cost business.

I will have to start looking around nursing homes in the area

The social worker should be helping out here/should have discussed this with you -- yeah right... -- ask to see one, ask for an assessment.

(I do know what you're going through now. And I'm sorry.)

iaps

In your previous post you have written

The prognosis is terminal of course

If they don't let your mother stay in hospital, you might consider looking for care in a hospice. They should be more experienced and specialized in dealing with terminal illness.

There are a number of hospices in the Lancashire area - you might visit and choose the best option. E.g.
http://www.hotfrog.co.uk/Products/hospice/Lancashire

http://www.ilancashire.co.uk/local/hospices/
Please remember - now your mother's comfort and dignity is paramount. Sorry, if this sentence sounds patronising.

margaretclare

cepheus wrote: »

I'm afraid my Mum was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer today, it explains all the symptoms she has complained of for the past 6 months. The prognosis is terminal of course, but they will operate on Wednesday to prolong it or minimise the pain. I'm not sure how that changes the care plans, and whether she stays in Hospital or not.

Oh I am so sorry. Very, very painful for Mum, and distressing for you.

There can be no question of her being moved into a care home. Her needs are far too great for that. She will need a lot of pain relief, pain management right to the end, and the best place for that would be a hospice. Whereabouts are you? There are hospices all over the country now. Do not even contemplate the suggestion of putting her in a care home! She needs skilled nursing 24/7, probably intravenous morphine, that kind of thing.

With sympathy

cepheus

Mum is in the Chorley Area, by care home do you mean nursing home? She seems to be improving, relatively free of pain at the moment, but exhausted due to not being able to sleep due to a nearby patient.

Mum's main concern will be getting somewhere with actively minded people, avoiding people screaming and shouting (and ideally snoring) and somewhere near her friends, so that tends to mark out most of the places. I am fortunate in knowing a special needs nurse who deals in this sort of thing who will look over them with me. She said a hospice was the best but the only nearby one shut years ago. This is the nearest which is 10 miles away

http://www.stcatherines.co.uk/about-us/#tab2

This one is a similar distance and less than half a mile way from where my brother lives, but she may not be in the catchment area if there is such a thing.

http://eastlancshospice.org.uk/how-we-can-help-you.html

Bogof_Babe

I'm so sorry to hear your sad news.

You might find that hospices will only take patients in during their final few days, as most do not have the capacity for long(ish) term stays. Or a patient will go in overnight to have their medication adjusted as necessary, then come out again.

My mum was moved from her care home to a nursing home when bowel cancer was diagnosed, and they were excellent. She was cared for with love and compassion right up to the end. I'd suggest you find out what you can about conveniently situated nursing homes.

Mum was fully funded under the NHS Continuing Care system, which means that she was considered ill enough to be in hospital, but due to space constraints a nursing home was the next best thing. She had her own room, and nursing care on call 24 hours a day.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a nursing home, but of course you would have to check for yourself which ones are of a high standard.

Edited to add: Mum's was in Southport, but I imagine that might be a bit out of your local search area?

cepheus

Sounds like the Blackburn one may be an option instead of Hospital at a later stage then.

cepheus

Mum said she was 'in so much pain she wanted to die' yesterday, so I took a look at the medical file they keep at the base of the bed. This suggested she hadn't taken any pain killers for 12 hours or more. The nurse on charge was unaware of this, but after reading the notes she suggested Mum was refusing to take drugs.

Mum has always been reluctant, since they make her vomit, but whether she point blank refused or they attempted to explain and persuade her, or anything else I can only guess. I was told that a Doctor was required for any major change in medication and this may take up to 4hrs to arrange. Yes this is in an hospital!

This morning I had words with the palliative care team, and discussed alternatives such as patches or intravenous. Also left a message with the consultants secretary but neither has got back to me yet. Its like DIY health-care here!

Visited two nursing homes and a hospice, the latter looks more like a private hospital along with people who really care; however, she would have to be referred to this and it depends on her life expectancy. The homes seem OK but they don't seem equipped for her needs at the moment.