Greetings all. I'm new here and would appreciate some advice. Searching the forum and reading the factsheets I've found much good stuff and many poignant stories, but no specific answer.
So … Can I get a care agency (self-funding) in place when my dad won't sign their forms and I'm not getting much help from social services? I don't have a health and welfare POA but I do have an EPA (the old type) for his financial affairs.
I've twice tried to bring in agencies, but Dad has insisted he's fine and without his signature neither company would go any further. In once of the factsheets I read that a financial POA should work (for residential care) if you're self-funding, but the agencies didn't seem to accept that.
Background: My dad has dementia and lives alone. With the help of an informal paid carer he has been managing pretty well. However, it's only going to get worse and I'm also worried about other illnesses, falls and so on. He ended up in A&E the other night and I think we're overdue to move up to the next level of care. I live 5 hours' drive away, I'm not going to care for him and I can't expect the existing carer to be available at all times. With a good agency I assume we'd have more flexibility.
SS are not really interested because Dad wears a shirt and tie, his flat is clean and he says he can manage. I admire his independence and I agree he's mentally competent for many day-to-day tasks, including some shopping – even though without his current carer I'm sure he would often run out of food. However, I think it's obvious he does not have capacity to understand how difficult it would be to get care if he were ill or injured. He has never in his life shown much regard for other people, and I guess it boils down to that.
The irony is that Dad is happy to chat to anyone who calls, including his current carer, who he doesn't remember from one visit to the next. If another carer showed up "just to check on him" he'd be fine with that. I'm not trying to get him to accept any particular kind of care against his will, just to have some help in place for when we really need it. Any ideas?
So … Can I get a care agency (self-funding) in place when my dad won't sign their forms and I'm not getting much help from social services? I don't have a health and welfare POA but I do have an EPA (the old type) for his financial affairs.
I've twice tried to bring in agencies, but Dad has insisted he's fine and without his signature neither company would go any further. In once of the factsheets I read that a financial POA should work (for residential care) if you're self-funding, but the agencies didn't seem to accept that.
Background: My dad has dementia and lives alone. With the help of an informal paid carer he has been managing pretty well. However, it's only going to get worse and I'm also worried about other illnesses, falls and so on. He ended up in A&E the other night and I think we're overdue to move up to the next level of care. I live 5 hours' drive away, I'm not going to care for him and I can't expect the existing carer to be available at all times. With a good agency I assume we'd have more flexibility.
SS are not really interested because Dad wears a shirt and tie, his flat is clean and he says he can manage. I admire his independence and I agree he's mentally competent for many day-to-day tasks, including some shopping – even though without his current carer I'm sure he would often run out of food. However, I think it's obvious he does not have capacity to understand how difficult it would be to get care if he were ill or injured. He has never in his life shown much regard for other people, and I guess it boils down to that.
The irony is that Dad is happy to chat to anyone who calls, including his current carer, who he doesn't remember from one visit to the next. If another carer showed up "just to check on him" he'd be fine with that. I'm not trying to get him to accept any particular kind of care against his will, just to have some help in place for when we really need it. Any ideas?