How much care can you give in 15 minutes ?
Not a lot! I’m not even sure if that includes travelling time?
There is so much pressure involved on both sides.
The saddest thing is that the person who’s being cared for is usually lonely and would like someone to talk to as well.
For the carer, there is no time for that as they have to get to their next client as soon as possible because if they go over their time they won’t get paid.
[quote=“Artangel, post:22, topic:93931”]
There is so much pressure involved on both sides.
The saddest thing is that the person who’s being cared for is usually lonely and would like someone to talk to as well.
For the carer, there is no time for that as they have to get to their next client as soon as possible because if they go over their time they won’t get paid.[/quote]
Yes, sad it is. My wife and I visited Ozzie’s mum every day. Things like my wife cooked dishes the lady liked, I did some grocery shopping and of course we walked Ozzie every day. It’s just what neighbours do. But we are not professional carers.
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I rang up one of my neighbours today ( she’s 94 ) and said I was the only person she had spoken to that day .she’s very fit and walks out around the village every morning but today didn’t meet a soul .
Hi
I will try answer properly, but just gone on the strong meds.
I am a bed blocker, for a number of very different reasons.
I do not have dementia and an awful lot of dementia patients in hospital have been admitted from care homes.
They are admitted to hospital because they have developed conditions other than dementia which require hospital treatment, pneumonia for example.
When no longer requiring hospital treatment they may well be so ill that they cannot be returned to a care home, but could be discharged to a Nursing Home.
There is an acute shortage of beds in Nursing Homes, with a waiting list which could be months.
I do not like hospital, and a care home for 6 weeks is not for me and then facing a wait for a bed in a community hospital for rehab.
When you are declared medically fit for discharge you are then assessed for your discharge plan, which means what do you need to live safely outside hospital, so you have physios, occupational therapists etc assess you and your living conditions, house bungalow etc etc. and how long you need support.
They do not want you back in hospital again soon.
These things take time to arrange and like everything else there are waiting lists for things.
It can be as simple as providing some simple home aids or very minor alterations, such as hand and grab rails etc.
It is a postcode lottery as to how long these things take to arrange.
Many of the private ambulance firms will transport you home, but not the things you need, like walkers.
This means waits until arrangements are made.
There is also internal bed blocking in the hospital itself.
You may be fit enough to leave Intensive Care, but no specialist beds available in the hospital to allow you to do so.
There is also the matter of funding, who pays for what, there is not unlimited money or resources hanging around just waiting for someone to be discharged.
I have had discharges go wrong, what are classed as unsafe discharges.
I am also self funding, I pay for care etc, it is not provided by the state.
Some items of equipment are provided, but not everything.
I am home, I cannot stand being in hospital, it is not me.
It has been a battle, I now have a hospital bed in the lounge, fully adjusrtble and electric.
I have other aids, for bad days.
I pay the full costs of care, which I arrange myself, I have ladies here 3 days a week for 5 hours each day, others for essentials only another 2 days a week.
I have bits of technology, full NHS Grade, for the essential monitoring of the important bits.
I have a lot of medication, which I can alter, within defined limits, to manage my condition.
It works for me, but I am very fortunate in that respect, many others are not.
The entire system is flawed and many are suffering.
Lots of care homes are closing and many have folded in the last decade because they don’t make a profit and just can’t afford to run. Fuel costs will force more to close. The other problem is a shortage of social workers & carers. I’m not going to mention the B word…
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Thanks for this comprehensive reply swims .
Poor people with dementia and ill to boot perhaps unable to communicate their pain .
Remember the Convalescent Homes?
Who get rid of them?
Where I grew up, there was a large Convalescent Home which took in those not able to be managed in their own homes.
It even went as far as doing minor ops, like I had my tonsils out, and wounded military.
Have your op in Hospital, then, be tended at this home until ready to restart your life.
Anyone else remember one of these?
Photo of Withernsea, The Convalescent Home c.1955 (francisfrith.com)
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They would t be any good for people with dementia as these people are not going to get better .
There have been numerous studies to confirm that it is most beneficial for those with dementia to be in familiar surroundings at home for as long as possible. What is needed is more investment into social & medical care in the community to keep people out of institutions which just stick them into a place full of other people with dementia & leave them isolated. They are meant to be investing in such services, but it’s a postcode lottery and some areas can’t find the high quality staff needed. There is local authority input and different local authorities will have different financial situations, the same is true of NHS services.
However, there is just too much unmet need and not enough social workers or carers. These are not easy jobs or valued enough. People leave the profession.
All the people who I have known who have dementia have been cared for by their families until it wasn’t possible to do so any longer .
None wanted to give up their loved ones but they could not do it any longer .
Eg a lady cared for her husband she was petite he was a big man . She was dressing him one morning and left him sat on the bed while she turned her back for a moment. The poor man fell off the bed was concussed and broke some ribs , she could not lift him and had to get help so he was on the floor for a time . This was not the first time he had injured himself through lack of balance .The poor woman was devoted to him but her family persuaded her to let him go into care as she was doing him more harm than good .
My own aunt got dementia and her family cared for her until they could no more . Then my uncle sold his house and moved to within walking distance of the care home where he visited her everyday for the rest of her life . She never knew him .
Not every family wants to dump their loved ones but there comes a time when it’s becomes too much .
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Hi there I wasn’t just thinking of the domestic side of caring the washing, shopping, cleaning & feeding all very vital.
District nursing is now under threat due to gross underfunding with a strong possibility this service could be extinct by the end of the decade.
I’m glad you manage on your pay to bring up your family.
Unfortunately many carers with young children today would find it hard to do so , hence caring is becoming an ageing career choice for the 40+. Attracting less and less 20 and 30 somethings.
I strongly believe if a job is worth doing it should be valued and paid accordingly.
People shouldn’t have to get two or three jobs to make ends meet
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Ah right…yes, I now understand what you mean ,Ripple.
It’s always been that way though hasn’t it.
I really don’t understand it, to be honest…
I guess it depends on whose employing you, don’t you think?
Of course they have to pay the minimum wage for these unskilled trades/ professions.
Some employers do value their staff and pay well, some don’t, that’s human beings I’m afraid.
I used to work for a lady, who paid me £20 an hour for cleaning…she valued me,Ripple and was always telling me, how much she appreciated me!.
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God forbid we ever need these services .
The problem is old people are so vulnerable especially if they are not well .
Carers are not all honest and caring .
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Maybe I’ll feel differently about it if it happens, but personally I’d prefer not to be a burden on others, nor would I want my estate to be sold up to pay for my care. The sooner we help those who’d prefer to euthenase themselves with dignity and without legal ramifications, the better.
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I don’t know how we make sure that the ill person is the one making the decision and/or carrying out the act!
AFAIK many ailments also have periods of lucidity, during which time the deed could be done without any doubt as to whose choice it is.
So, maybe the person wishing to take the pill should take him/herself for an approved assessment, and then could be free to take the pill, if they OK it.
The recent worrying use of the DNR signature, in care homes during the early covid crisis, left some of us very worried!
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As always, there will be exceptions. But this shouldn’t really deter the majority from being authorised to make their own decisions, without any fear of punishment for anyone who might assist.
But this is ethical chaos. You then have the dilemma of whether suicide due to mental illness or just having a bad day is acceptable. So if someone wants to jump off a bridge or building you don’t try to talk them down or rescue them?
Those with dementia would leave anyone who has power of attorney to make an awful decision. We already have a situation when anyone deemed to have loss of mental capacity is treated worse than mass murderers in prison.
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