Results of best interest meeting says mum needs a care home .... some questions

ukdenise

Registered User
Aug 13, 2009
15
0
London
Hi
My mum has been in hospital now for 6 weeks and yesterday I attended a best interest meeting at the hospital where it was decided that mum.. Whilst medically fit for discharge... is too high risk to return to her own home and have stated she needs to attend a care / residential home. This will be for approx 3 to 4 months whilst her needs are continued to be assessed.
My mum would be local authority funded. My mum is west Sussex authority. The social worker said at the meeting she will provide a list of available homes for mum ... so I was shocked that the list ... out of the 150 homes in that area ... consisted of 4 that had avaibillty within the budget of the local authority ... call me nieve I thought there would be a few more to choose from ... so having looked at the options they are not what we want mum to go into... she needs a home with dementia care ..the ones they gave us had shared rooms in a house ... question is what happens if we say we don't want mum to go to any of those ... neither myself or my sister are in a position to top up the fees ... any advice would be appreciated kind regards Dee
 

Delphie

Registered User
Dec 14, 2011
1,268
0
My mum is self funding so what I'm about to say is not coming from personal experience, but I think your options are as follows...

You could try arguing that none of the suggested places meet your mum's needs. The more reasons you can find the better. Perhaps find a care home you do like, so you can show what would be acceptable and why.

Or you could try caring for her yourselves. Obviously this may not be practical or you'd be doing it already!

Unfortunately, without lots of hard cash, there will be limitations to what your mum can have. That said, even within those limitations there are standards the LA must stick to, so don't accept their first offer without a fight.
 

Ellaroo

Registered User
Nov 16, 2015
161
0
Liverpool
Hi , my mum was in hospital for 13 weeks and it was suggested that she went into care home. I had excellent hospital sw and backed me 100% to bring mum home. Had visits 4 x a day with 2 carers . I wasnt happy with standard of care local authority had contracted .
Mum was paying £158 and La paying £324 pw to care agency. I stopped it after one care was abusive to mum and one didnt clean her bottom after she used commode.
Im managing ok and just got to get respite sorted. Sw in hospital has started process for CHC funding so hopefull be able tomhave more than 28 days per year ive been getting.
I think they have to,prove youncant manage mum at home . They may be keen as its quicker to discharge someone into carehome . Lots more agencies involved eg distict nurse, community ot and physio re mobily aids etc .
Good luck , follow your instincts . You know whats possible and best for mum.
X
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,678
0
Midlands
Problem is, they wont keep her in hospital until your preference has space.

To have 4 to choose from is actually quite a lot.

before he was moved, each home would have to meet her and assess if they can meet her needs. That might be where you get ammunition- if her dementia needs outweigh their criteria for entry
 

AlsoConfused

Registered User
Sep 17, 2010
1,952
0
Hopefully every important care issue has already been discussed in the best interests meeting. That said, it can be a useful precaution to write out all the needs your loved one has; what's the evidence for these (eg ward assessment notes, details of falls, etc); and the implications of these needs for her future care. You want any move to be to the right home.

In our situation, for example, the nursing home taking Mum had been told by the hospital she needed to be there because of her double incontinence and extreme dementia. The home wasn't aware that Mum's Consultant wanted her in a nursing home because of her very high risk of falls (a risk intensified by her complete unpredictability). A nursing home without sensor mats, special beds and enough staff for 2 to "walk" Mum whenever she was mobile wouldn't have been a fit place for Mum.

Sometimes the hospital doesn't have a complete list of medical / behavioural needs, other times the hospital doesn't communicate the full picture to the care home provider doing the assessment. Then there are the other issues the hospital wouldn't necessarily know about - eg that key family members are physically impaired / dependent on public transport and will only be able to visit if their relative's new home is in X or Y location. The family's effective choice of nursing home for Mum was a shortlist of one place; fortunately they had a vacancy.
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,050
0
Salford
now question is what happens if we say we don't want mum to go to any of those ... neither myself or my sister are in a position to top up the fees ... any advice would be appreciated kind regards Dee

In short Dee, they'll phone you up and tell you where they've moved her to, that's pretty much what happened to me. All the LA have to do is find somewhere that meets her needs not somewhere that you like.
I'm surprised you say "This will be for approx 3 to 4 months whilst her needs are continued to be assessed." usually the NHS has its own assessment units not private care homes, who'll be doing the assessing while she's there?
Last thing is that the phrase "care / residential home" is an issue I've brought up before, from the sound of it she specifically needs EMI nursing care not a residential or care home neither of which may be able to meet her needs. It is all terminology but putting her in the wrong kind of setting might lead to problems.
K