PA care at home advice needed please

[Emmachandler21]

Hi,
My Mum’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the last year. She’s officially in the early stages but her doctor and myself are convinced she is at least middle stage as she is also Bipolar and declining quite quickly. She is struggling at home and lives alone ( I’m 3 hours away and have 2 small children and 4 day a week job so I bring her to stay with me every 6 weeks for a few days). All agree a care home isn’t right at the moment but she’s constantly losing keys and locking herself out and finding dressing and basic care more difficult and she is experiencing quite a lot of incontinence ( she also has uncontrolled diabetes). I’m looking into getting a PA carer to live in with her, which she is happy to try. Please could anyone recommend good companies that I could trust to find a good carer for her full time?
Thanks! Xxx

 

[Grannie G]

Hello @Emmachandler21. Welcome to Talking Point.

We ask people not to recommend care agencies. However unfair this may seem, agencies and carers will vary , depending on location, changes in staff , what each agency is able to provide and the needs of the individual.
The Alzheimers Society cannot accept responsibility for such recommendations .

When I was looking for agency carers I searched on the internet for a local agency and made enquiries to see whether they were able to meet our needs.

In my case the manager suggested a home visit to assess my husband and interview me to see if we were suitable for each other. She spent two hours with me and the result was excellent home care for two hours each day.

Although the agency I used was excellent I would not recommend them even if I was allowed to. It is eight years since I was in contact with this agency and things might have changed.

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Emmachandler21, welcome to the forum.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to have a needs assessment, to which everyone is entitled. It’s possible that you may get a little guidance when this is done as when my wife was being visited by an OT that lady was willing to give her opinion on local care homes.

The system for a needs assessment is outlined in a Society Factsheet that can be found by clicking this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/media/8211

 

[love.dad.but..]

Hi,
My Mum’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the last year. She’s officially in the early stages but her doctor and myself are convinced she is at least middle stage as she is also Bipolar and declining quite quickly. She is struggling at home and lives alone ( I’m 3 hours away and have 2 small children and 4 day a week job so I bring her to stay with me every 6 weeks for a few days). All agree a care home isn’t right at the moment but she’s constantly losing keys and locking herself out and finding dressing and basic care more difficult and she is experiencing quite a lot of incontinence ( she also has uncontrolled diabetes). I’m looking into getting a PA carer to live in with her, which she is happy to try. Please could anyone recommend good companies that I could trust to find a good carer for her full time?
Thanks! Xxx

I tried 2 live care agencies for dad after living with him after mum died suddenly but unfortunately neither worked out as although we were reassured by their promise that all their carers were very experienced with dementia caring it was clear in practice they were not so NH was the next option as dad also had medical needs requiring close monitoring. You say all have agreed your mum is not ready for a care home I too thought that for dad but in fact we was and moving in highlighted his lack of ability and capacity and the need for being less isolated.....it was me who wasn't ready! From what you describe practically and health wise your mum sounds as though she needs dementia expertise around her rather than simply a PA carer.

 

[Sirena]

I agree with @love.dad.but.. that it sounds like your mother needs an experienced carer as she has relatively complex needs. My mother had care at home for several hours a day and that worked well for 18 months (she had no additional medical needs). The agency did provide 24/7 care but it would have been prohibitively expensive and when my mother needed care 24/7 I moved her to a care home. I found the at-home care by googling dementia care at home plus the location. Then it's a case of meeting them and using your gut feeling as to whether they are right.

 

[Amethyst59]

Welcome to Talking Point.. the only thing I’d like to add is that agencies, like Care Homes, are inspected by CQC and so you can do an internet search and see the ratings, if you do decide to use carers. Of course, if you employ someone privately you would not have the safeguard of the CQC inspection, so you would have to be very careful to check references and DBS check.

 

[Emmachandler21]

Thank you everyone!!! Gonna have to give this lots of thought and research x

 

[maryjoan]

Hi,
My Mum’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the last year. She’s officially in the early stages but her doctor and myself are convinced she is at least middle stage as she is also Bipolar and declining quite quickly. She is struggling at home and lives alone ( I’m 3 hours away and have 2 small children and 4 day a week job so I bring her to stay with me every 6 weeks for a few days). All agree a care home isn’t right at the moment but she’s constantly losing keys and locking herself out and finding dressing and basic care more difficult and she is experiencing quite a lot of incontinence ( she also has uncontrolled diabetes). I’m looking into getting a PA carer to live in with her, which she is happy to try. Please could anyone recommend good companies that I could trust to find a good carer for her full time?
Thanks! Xxx

Where I live, the local County Council has a page on their website for PA's offering their services. People requiring PA's are also listed. The County Council has not vetted the prospective PA's, but it is a very useful list to make an initial contact. Maybe this is done in your area.

 

[Shedrech]

Hi @Emmachandler21
these may be of help
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/your-support-services
https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/services-we-regulate/find-services-offering-care-home
https://www.dementiauk.org/get-support/admiral-nursing/
and eg
https://www.carechoices.co.uk/publications/regional-directories/