Advice needed for safeguarding meeting tomorrow...

[Plum1108]

Hi
Not sure if I am in the right forum, but here goes.
Mum is in a residential care home. She "escaped" (their word) a few weeks ago and managed to hotfoot about two miles down the road before the police caught up with her. Social services have arranged a safeguarding meeting for tomorrow, that my sister and I are attending. I've not been to one of these before, so I'm not sure what to expect.
Care home want to move mum to the dementia wing when a place becomes available but this is an extra £100+ a week (mum is self-funding), also, I think her behaviours will escalate as the unit is much small than the main home and she does like to move about. Also, there will be less people for her to socialise with. It gets quietly lively in the residential unit and I think she would be very bored in the dementia unit. I think she will then deteriorate quite rapidly but who knows....
Social services, when they spoke to me on the phone said that they can do this, that and the other without being very specific, so I don't know what they can insist we do. I am worried that they will insist she moves to the dementia unit, then when her money runs out, refuse to carry on funding her there...
Any advice?

Thank you
Plum

 

[BeckyJan]

When your Mother's money runs out then the LA have a responsibility to pay for her care. An assessment should determine what her needs are and providing she still needs the dementia unit, then they have to fund it. They may try to move her to a less expensive one, but you would have a strong case thatt a move would unsettle her and create more problems.

Hopefully other members with experience of this will give their thoughts soon.

 

[katek]

Plum 1108

Presumably your mother is now in the nondementia unit, either for reasons other than dementia (though presumably not mobility if she went 2 miles!), or perhaps for just mild dementia which has clearly worsened now. Anyway, it sounds as if the dementia unit is not particularly 'dementia friendly' if it is difficult for patients to wander about. Have you looked at other homes which might be more suitable for your mother's current needs?

The fact that a safeguarding meeting has been called is indicative that she is at risk of endangering herself. If her illness is at that level, you could argue she should be assessed for Continuing Health Care. Based on evidence (such as the escape) she would need to score 'severe' in both 'Cognition' and 'Behaviour' to qualify for full NHS funding, but if she failed to attain this, could get funded nursing care instead (currently £109 per week. She would need to be in a nursing home (as opposed to residential home) to get this, but it sounds as if she needs that higher level of care now anyway.

My father was self-funding in the dementia wing of a residential home. He too escaped, and later his behaviour also deteriorated to crisis level. After a year in an NHS assessment unit, he is now fully funded in a lovely NHS Unit, where there are mental health nurses amongst the staff, and a much better staff/patient ratio. Although care workers in residential homes are 'dementia trained' to some extent, it is now patently obvious for us to see how much better fully qualified specialist mental health nurses are at dealing with more challenging behaviour. It is a pity this type of care is not more widely available.

Obviously I don't know the full extent of your mother's needs, but this could be the opportunity to push for a more suitable type of care. Good luck!

 

[katie1]

It sounds as if your Mums condition may have reached a different phase. The main thing to consider here is her safety. Ask for a CHC assessment. Look on the internet and print off your own CHC checklist and have that with you when you ask for a meeting. Make sure you go to all the meetings and take notes. Ask for copies of everything that is said!
Ask for a full assessment after the checklist. If there are concerns about your Mums condition and her safety (they have a duty of care to keep her safe and if it is too easy for her to get out a different setting might be more appropriate) the a full review of her needs is urgent.
Read round all the posts about NHS CHC funding/checklists/DST/Panel decisions and advice
Take notes, ask questions, and ask for copies of everything.
Good Luck