Hello, my mother in law has early stages of Alzheimers (was diagnosed in November 2017). She still lives at home and we would like that to continue for as long as possible. Her condition seems to be worsening quite fast though and we are now at the stage where she needs someone to help her most days (ideally every day), mainly to cook (or heat up) a meal so we're sure that she has one proper meal a day at least (because we get the impression thatshe is not eating proper meals anymore), and checks that nothing is out of date in her fridge. My partner enquired with social services but they said they wouldn't provide care in the way of 'just' feeding her, they would do other things such as help to wash her etc, but that is not needed (yet). I enquired through a private care company and they could go for 1 hour per day but it would cost £20 per day! My mother in law doens't have much money, she lives in a council house. She (and we) can't afford to pay this much every day...and we are unable to do this ourselves as we both work full time and don't live that close to her. We have set up power of attorney and things like that but we now feel things are escalating rather quickly. Can anyone tell me how to go about getting carers to come in once a day to just feed her a meal and check her fridge? without costing a fortune? Many thanks for any help.
How to get care at home in an affordable way?
- Thread starter NorEm
- Start date
Hello @NorEm, welcome to TP
The advice given by the SW seems to be somewhat scant.
The following link is to an AS Factsheet which gives details of what should happen. Sometimes one has to be firm in these matters;_
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/downl...assessment_for_care_in_support_in_england.pdf
The advice given by the SW seems to be somewhat scant.
The following link is to an AS Factsheet which gives details of what should happen. Sometimes one has to be firm in these matters;_
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/downl...assessment_for_care_in_support_in_england.pdf
Hello @NorEm and welcome.
I think £20 for an Agency visit is probably about average. They do need to pay their staff and cover things like Insurance etc.
I suppose you could get cheaper if you advertise and just hire someone privately, but you would need to do all background checks etc yourself, and of course, you'd also have to provide cover for the Carer's illness, holidays, etc. It can work if you're lucky enough to find the right person.
I think £20 for an Agency visit is probably about average. They do need to pay their staff and cover things like Insurance etc.
I suppose you could get cheaper if you advertise and just hire someone privately, but you would need to do all background checks etc yourself, and of course, you'd also have to provide cover for the Carer's illness, holidays, etc. It can work if you're lucky enough to find the right person.
Hi there, your first step should be to contact social services and request a care assessment and a carer's assessment (for you). They should come out and undertake an assessment of her needs, which will include ability to feed herself, keep herself safe etc. They can also do a financial assessment to determine what she would be expected to contribute towards her care costs, taking into consideration her income and savings. If she has very little in terms of savings she is likely to be eligible for some or all of her care costs at home to be met. What is actually available can differ hugely between local authorities and different areas. For example, I live in Wales where we have to contribute a maximum of £80 per week towards home care costs, but over and above this level, the costs are covered and this is not means tested. Her needs will change over time, but it's best to get this done at an early stage and she is then on the radar of social services as things progress.
I think social services are trying to fob you off. As other posters have said you're first point of call must be social services for an assessment. My MIL is self funding and pays £22 an hour and more at weekends and bank holidays.
When my dad was in the early stages I found a lady who lived nearby who was happy to pop in to clean and heat up a meal. She was a friend of a friend and charged less than half care agency rates. She was already helping another lady with dementia who was further on than my dad. Dad is now in the mid to late stages and we're in the process of getting SS carer's for him but in the meanwhile he is still being helped by the same "cleaning lady". She has been a godsend and I now consider her a friend.
But I also think SS have an an obligation to provide support to stay safe at home even if personal care is not yet required.
But I also think SS have an an obligation to provide support to stay safe at home even if personal care is not yet required.
I sympathise with you. My wife has PCA and we’re managing ok after 6 years. You’re right that care agencies are in it for the money and generally the mostly young women are rushed off their feet. Councils like ours ESCC are pretty useless because they’re overstretched.
One bright spot which gives me a break now and then is a Care Assistant for non medical companionship. Ours is great and charges £12 an hour. Your social services should have a list of approved.
Sadly I’ve concluded that apart from forums like this and some charities, we dementia carers are on our own
One bright spot which gives me a break now and then is a Care Assistant for non medical companionship. Ours is great and charges £12 an hour. Your social services should have a list of approved.
Sadly I’ve concluded that apart from forums like this and some charities, we dementia carers are on our own
Wow! thank you all for your replies. Very helpful indeed! i will get my partner to get in touch with social services again and try to sort out getting a care assessment ASAP. Hopefully my mother in law will be entitled to some financial help towards some of the care. Fingers crossed. I will come back to this thread if we get stuck after having contacted social services again.
For now, thanks so much to you all for your help.
For now, thanks so much to you all for your help.
I agree that your mother in law needs to get an SS assessment.
Of course the disease progresses differently for everyone, but when my mother got to the stage of not being able to provide a meal for herself, there were a lot of other things she couldn't do either. She could wash and dress herself, but she could not remember how to use the washing machine and could not make herself a cup of tea (which actually is quite difficult when you think about it...) So I wonder if there are other things she does need help with - it is often very difficult to tease this out unless you spent a lot of time with someone and observe it, because they tend to say they're 'fine' and minimise the issues.
(My mother paid £20 an hour for self-funded care in London - I believe it has now gone up to £22.)
Of course the disease progresses differently for everyone, but when my mother got to the stage of not being able to provide a meal for herself, there were a lot of other things she couldn't do either. She could wash and dress herself, but she could not remember how to use the washing machine and could not make herself a cup of tea (which actually is quite difficult when you think about it...) So I wonder if there are other things she does need help with - it is often very difficult to tease this out unless you spent a lot of time with someone and observe it, because they tend to say they're 'fine' and minimise the issues.
(My mother paid £20 an hour for self-funded care in London - I believe it has now gone up to £22.)
I agree here because one of the first signs my MIL couldn't cope was being unable to plan a meal and cook for herself. She can still get up and get dressed herself but she has a complete lack of initiaive. She likes to tell everyone of course she's fine.
My Mum had lovely carers up until she went into hospital. Mum lived in a Council Flat. When assessed they will want to look at her finances eg. Money coming in and going out, savings. Mums Care Plan was paid to the County Council. Mum was having Cares 4 times a day. Around £170 a month. You may be able to get Attendance Allowance. Need to find this out at Assessment
Definitely look at applying for Attendance Allowance. Age UK and AlzSoc can help you fill in the forms and make sure all the correct information is included. Your mum’s situation sounds a lot like my mum’s and she was awarded the lower rate. Also once AA is sorted, you can apply for the SMI disregard of her council tax. That can be backdated to the date of diagnosis; my mum got about £600 back because she lived alone so her council tax was reduced to £0. All that helps to fund the cost of the kind of care you’re describing.
Thanks very much for all this. Sorry for only replying now, it's been a busy week! my partner has put things in place this week and has spent a lot of time with her mum so she's able to get a good idea of what her mum can and can't do on her own, which is helpful. She has also started things with social services so hopefully the assessment will happen soon. Thanks again everyone for all your advice and suggestions. It's really helpful to be able to 'talk' to people who have already gone through this!
Oh yes, so understand about lack of initiative. OH had this for the years I was caring for him at home. It was a complete contrast to the driven personality he was, firing off ideas and creative projects all the time. It's a strange one to get used to, isn't it. Thank you so very much for posting.
