Shielding Letter

[Dimpsy]

Hello everyone, my mum who has Alzheimer's, has received a "shielding" letter this morning, which was a bit of a shock.

We're not sure which category she comes under to need 12 weeks shielding; it could be her age, she'll be 90 this year or could it be the AZ diagnosis or the fact she has had a couple of chest infections over the last three years which cleared up quickly with antibiotics, she doesn't have any permanent lung/heart problems. Her medication consists of Donepezil, a sleeping tablet and thyroxin.

To be honest, I secretly worried it would be my husband who would receive a letter as he has underlying health issues. We have been very cautious up till now, only shopping when necessary and walking where nobody goes.

Can I seek your advice please: -
1) The letter says mum should not go out, we take her for a short walk nearly every day from the house and I really would like to continue with that as it does her good. My concern is if mum doesn't walk out for 12 weeks, she will lose her mobility for good. She is too frail and arthriticky to exercise any other way. Am I failing her and the NHS by taking her out?

2) The letter gives advice about online registering of mum as vulnerable, which we are assuming is the key to priority online shopping. Do you think we should use that service or OH and I carry on shopping locally when necessary.

Life is such a worry for everyone at the moment, what to do for the best.
I would be ever so grateful to hear your opinions.

 

[karaokePete]

Here is a link to the Gov guidelines on shielding. You will see the answers to your questions plus more there

COVID-19: guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk

Guidance for people aged 12 and over whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19.

www.gov.uk

You may also find the Covid-19 sub-forum useful and you can find that by clicking the next link

Coronavirus COVID-19

This forum is a space for you to talk about coronavirus COVID-19. Please note any misinformation and inaccurate content will be edited and removed.

forum.alzheimers.org.uk

 

[Sarasa]

I think getting others to do your shopping would be a good idea. Have you checked what your council has in place?
From a quick read of the advice It seems you can ignore the advice and take your mum for a walk, but what about trying some chair based pilates? I've not looked at the video but I've taken part in similar sessions at mum's care home. They've been fun, and a good workout. Useful for helping your mum remember simple instructions too. The activities co-ordinator in mum's home makes it fun by suggesting things such as trying to keep a dangerous snake at arms length or pick up a heavy, wiggling puppy. The 'boxing' exercise was hilarious as everyone argued over who they wanted to imagine to hit!

 

[nitram]

I would register her as vulnerable, you don't have to use the service, best to be on their books if things change.

I believe the system is that the main supermarkets are informed that she is vulnerable and they attempt to match her details with any they have from loyalty cards etc. LA hubs are also involved.

Personally I would use the home delivery service unless you or your OH are prepared to act like the service and not enter the house.
Supermarkets are a main source of infection and you or your OH could become infected and then transmit it to your mum.

I am self-isolating having a weekly food parcel bought by my retired elder daughter, my younger working from home daughter had to do the shopping last Thursday as the elder one woke up with a high temperature. She is now having a typical set of coronavirus symptoms.
The only outside contact she had was when doing shopping for me and herself in Asda the previous Thur plus a top-up for a single item for herself at Lidl on Sunday.

 

[Andrew_McP]

I take my Mum out just up the path beside us and walk her round the little copse we're lucky enough to have locally. Nobody else walks there so I'm not too worried, even though the advice is that she shouldn't step outside. I'm more worried about 12 weeks of low exercise (the house and garden aren't big enough to set a decent pace) making her forget how to walk properly than anything else.

My Mum's too far gone to take interest in anything other than a bit of gentle dancing. But even then it's just a bit of a jig and she doesn't move her feet. Walking is all her body really knows how to do, and it won't be long before we lose even that. So I'm trying to keep her strength up as best I can.

I ignored her priority letter for a while, but had a phone call from someone checking up on us because I hadn't. You show up as a potential risk if you don't answer; they have no idea if the vulnerable person is on their own or not. So I've filled it in online for Mum and ticked off that we're ok at the moment... unless I crave a proper cup of tea and tire of weird tasting long life milk!

Anyway, it's good to be on their radar, because I think our details then feed through to supermarkets if we want a place in the priority pile. I'm avoiding that for as long as possible though. There must be plenty of folk out there who need it more than we do. I do get nervous eating into our stores, but it's the irrational kind of nervousness that made me a bit of a stockpiler all my life. I trust nobody and nothing! It's sort of nice to have my 'stopped clock is right twice a day' personality finally justified. I'd rather it hadn't been though.

 

[Lynmax]

My mother also received this notification yesterday via a text message ( to my sister as mum doesn't have a mobile phone!) from her doctor. A bit pointless at the moment as mum is in hospital waiting for discharge to a care placement. I am not sure what triggered this alert, mum obviously wasn't considered high risk at the start of the lockdown.

 

[Sirena]

My FIL received his shielding letter about a week ago (he has heart problems and COPD), and was then contacted by Tesco to offer him a priority shopping slot. The first slot they had was 29th April, but he is on their list now. In the meantime, neighbours are dropping off shopping. I assume other supermarkets will contact him in due course.

You may as well take advantage of online shopping, it will reduce the risks for all of you.

Re the walking outside, I personally would do the same as Andrew - I'd choose a time when it is quiet and still go out for a walk, I would regard it as essential for the reasons he says.

 

[jennifer1967]

my husband had a letter 2 weeks ago has he has severe copd and cant have any one in the door.as his wife i do all the shopping and im 20 yrs younger than him so dont qualify to elderly special times. i have registered him so that he doesnt need the help and someone else has it. he goes in the garden and on door step but that is it. i cant let go any further as we live on a council estate that has communal pathways. its my responsibility to get him through this and out the other side so i dont take chances

 

[canary]

I agree with everyone else - take advantage of the shopping delivery to cut down the risk of infection. Personally I cant see a problem with going out walking every day, so long as its quiet, you are unlikely to meet anyone else and your mum wont try and "escape"

 

[occupied99]

my husband had a letter 2 weeks ago has he has severe copd and cant have any one in the door.as his wife i do all the shopping and im 20 yrs younger than him so dont qualify to elderly special times. i have registered him so that he doesnt need the help and someone else has it. he goes in the garden and on door step but that is it. i cant let go any further as we live on a council estate that has communal pathways. its my responsibility to get him through this and out the other side so i dont take chances

Hi I know it's a bit vague but if you look after somebody I was told that you can enter the supermarkets earlier,although at the time I did hear it was a free for all as they couldn't tell who was a nurse/carer or just regular shopper.I look afer my mother as her carer and was told by a few of the supermarkets that I could come to their stores during the hours for vulnerable people,but thought better of it as I heard there was massive queues at opening so it felt less safe

 

[jennifer1967]

i asked tesco and they said that if i took him with me then that would be fine i do have a strap tesco gave me so someone else can come with me because i walk with a stick still have to wait in the queue

 

[Dimpsy]

Here is a link to the Gov guidelines on shielding. You will see the answers to your questions plus more there

COVID-19: guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk

Guidance for people aged 12 and over whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19.

www.gov.uk

You may also find the Covid-19 sub-forum useful and you can find that by clicking the next link

Coronavirus COVID-19

This forum is a space for you to talk about coronavirus COVID-19. Please note any misinformation and inaccurate content will be edited and removed.

forum.alzheimers.org.uk

Many thanks @karaokePete, I've clicked the links and they are useful and more importantly, reassuring. It's daft really, we have been very careful to date, but receiving the shielding letter this morning brings what's going on outside, right into our house and lives.
Apart from my job being furloughed, not a lot has changed with our daily pottering indoors and in the garden and watching the news the crisis can seem remote, the letter is a sharp and timely reminder that we are all in this together and each has a part to play.

 

[Dimpsy]

I think getting others to do your shopping would be a good idea. Have you checked what your council has in place?
From a quick read of the advice It seems you can ignore the advice and take your mum for a walk, but what about trying some chair based pilates? I've not looked at the video but I've taken part in similar sessions at mum's care home. They've been fun, and a good workout. Useful for helping your mum remember simple instructions too. The activities co-ordinator in mum's home makes it fun by suggesting things such as trying to keep a dangerous snake at arms length or pick up a heavy, wiggling puppy. The 'boxing' exercise was hilarious as everyone argued over who they wanted to imagine to hit!

Have a look at the videos - there are several @Sarasa, they look good fun and I will definitely give them a go and should be able to work out a simple exercise plan for mum, actually, when we go to the Memory café, some months we do armchair exercises, which mum likes, so a big ? to you.
So much for mum going for daily walks, she flatly refused today.

We have come to the same conclusion about shopping and will ask our daughters to shop for us. Funnily enough, this week, we had a pamphlet pushed through the door from our town council who have organised volunteers to help with shopping, prescription collecting etc. I said to OH, what a good idea as there are many retired people in our area, never thinking it would be us who may need a bit of help!

 

[Dimpsy]

I would register her as vulnerable, you don't have to use the service, best to be on their books if things change.

I believe the system is that the main supermarkets are informed that she is vulnerable and they attempt to match her details with any they have from loyalty cards etc. LA hubs are also involved.

Personally I would use the home delivery service unless you or your OH are prepared to act like the service and not enter the house.
Supermarkets are a main source of infection and you or your OH could become infected and then transmit it to your mum.

I am self-isolating having a weekly food parcel bought by my retired elder daughter, my younger working from home daughter had to do the shopping last Thursday as the elder one woke up with a high temperature. She is now having a typical set of coronavirus symptoms.
The only outside contact she had was when doing shopping for me and herself in Asda the previous Thur plus a top-up for a single item for herself at Lidl on Sunday.

Thank you @nitram, I registered mum as you suggested; once the power's that be confirm mum received a shielding letter, they will write with more information in a few days, so that's a good job done.
Mum lives with us, so OH and I will not shop in person from now on, but ask our daughters if they could shop for us, although, it could be that number two daughter has also received a letter as she has MS and is newly pregnant. Poor old number one daughter could be shopping for two households.
I sincerely hope your elder daughter is feeling better in herself now, and on the mend, you must be very concerned for her at the moment, life is just one big worry after another.
We will also investigate online shopping, when supermarkets first started that service many years ago, we ordered from Asda's and thought it was great, the second time was disastrous, vegetable's which were really only for fit composting, so we never bothered again. Beggars can't be choosers now springs to mind!

 

[nitram]

...from our town council who have organised volunteers to help with shopping, prescription collecting etc. ...

Specifically on prescriptions check with the pharmacy.
I usually pick up my repeat dispensing myself.
A week last Thursday my daughter queued to pick it up and was told that in future I should ring them and the meds would be delivered within a week.

Poor old number one daughter could be shopping for two households.

I started strict self-isolating , solely because of age, before the 'lock down' in the UK because I know several expats in France and could see what was coming.
No 2 daughter has a MIL who is shielding.
She shopped for two people last Thursday, she was challenged about the contents of her trolley.
She had the foresight to take her LA lanyard (not related to health or SS) with her, showed it and said she was shopping on behalf two people, one shielding and one self-isolating. confrontation solved.
Prime no 1 daughter to be prepared.

 

[Dimpsy]

I take my Mum out just up the path beside us and walk her round the little copse we're lucky enough to have locally. Nobody else walks there so I'm not too worried, even though the advice is that she shouldn't step outside. I'm more worried about 12 weeks of low exercise (the house and garden aren't big enough to set a decent pace) making her forget how to walk properly than anything else.

My Mum's too far gone to take interest in anything other than a bit of gentle dancing. But even then it's just a bit of a jig and she doesn't move her feet. Walking is all her body really knows how to do, and it won't be long before we lose even that. So I'm trying to keep her strength up as best I can.

I ignored her priority letter for a while, but had a phone call from someone checking up on us because I hadn't. You show up as a potential risk if you don't answer; they have no idea if the vulnerable person is on their own or not. So I've filled it in online for Mum and ticked off that we're ok at the moment... unless I crave a proper cup of tea and tire of weird tasting long life milk!

Anyway, it's good to be on their radar, because I think our details then feed through to supermarkets if we want a place in the priority pile. I'm avoiding that for as long as possible though. There must be plenty of folk out there who need it more than we do. I do get nervous eating into our stores, but it's the irrational kind of nervousness that made me a bit of a stockpiler all my life. I trust nobody and nothing! It's sort of nice to have my 'stopped clock is right twice a day' personality finally justified. I'd rather it hadn't been though.

Thank you @Andrew_McP, affirmation that it's important to keep up the walking; think use it or lose it and it will be very much harder to manage if mum is immobile.
That was interesting, to note what happens if someone doesn't register vulnerability, at times like these it's good to know there are other ways that Big Brother can keep a lookout for people who may need help to access service's. I ticked that we can manage as well.
Have you tried skimmed long life milk? It doesn't have that peculiar flavour that the full fat has. In our area, there is a run on baked beans and the shelves have been emptied for a few weeks, so we bought tinned spaghetti as a substitute. Opened a tin the other day and then remembered why we haven't bought it for the best part of forty years. Yuck, and still three tins in the pantry.

 

[Dimpsy]

My mother also received this notification yesterday via a text message ( to my sister as mum doesn't have a mobile phone!) from her doctor. A bit pointless at the moment as mum is in hospital waiting for discharge to a care placement. I am not sure what triggered this alert, mum obviously wasn't considered high risk at the start of the lockdown.

We thought that because a letter hadn't arrived, mum (and OH) was in the clear and we breathed a sigh of relief. Now it seems likely that OH may get a letter as well, as he has a heart condition and abdominal aortic aneurysm that will be repaired at some time.

Maybe I'll have to pitch a tent in the garden and leave the two of them to get on with things indoors!

I hope that your mum is able to transfer into care soon.

 

[Dimpsy]

My FIL received his shielding letter about a week ago (he has heart problems and COPD), and was then contacted by Tesco to offer him a priority shopping slot. The first slot they had was 29th April, but he is on their list now. In the meantime, neighbours are dropping off shopping. I assume other supermarkets will contact him in due course.

You may as well take advantage of online shopping, it will reduce the risks for all of you.

Re the walking outside, I personally would do the same as Andrew - I'd choose a time when it is quiet and still go out for a walk, I would regard it as essential for the reasons he says.

Thank you @Sirena, Tesco is our local supermarket. I never bothered to update mum's details when she moved on with us, maybe I will have a hunt for her club card and enter her CoA, so they make contact here and not across the other side of the country.

 

[Dimpsy]

my husband had a letter 2 weeks ago has he has severe copd and cant have any one in the door.as his wife i do all the shopping and im 20 yrs younger than him so dont qualify to elderly special times. i have registered him so that he doesnt need the help and someone else has it. he goes in the garden and on door step but that is it. i cant let go any further as we live on a council estate that has communal pathways. its my responsibility to get him through this and out the other side so i dont take chances

Your husband is a blessed man to have you for his wife @jennifer1967 , you take such good care of him, my very best wishes to you both, and all we can do is look to the time when this setback to ordinary life can be a put behind us, xx

 

[Dimpsy]

I agree with everyone else - take advantage of the shopping delivery to cut down the risk of infection. Personally I cant see a problem with going out walking every day, so long as its quiet, you are unlikely to meet anyone else and your mum wont try and "escape"

Hi @canary, it's a quiet cul-de-sac, but if anybody else is walking, I've noticed that we pass each other at a twenty foot distance, never mind two metres. The other thing is that we have a couple of neighbours who live on their own and had the shield letter early on. In normal times they come out for a chat when mum goes for her walk, now they sit by their front window and give us a thumbs up, so we know they are ok.