capacity or not?

MLM

Registered User
Jun 17, 2014
130
0
Manchester
I'm sorry that you weren't listened to. It should never come down to money, at least in my opinion, though sadly the NHS is heavily focused on savings and efficiency, as are many LAs, and there is a huge pressure on all professionals to find ways to save money whilst still meeting the needs that we have to provide services for. As a person who has to see both sides of the coin as a professional and as a family member of someone with dementia I can, as I have already touched upon, struggle to balance the two as I know that as a relative there are things I want to see happen that I know as a professional won't necessarily happen, and that is extremely frustrating. For example, my FIL is a younger adult with dementia at the age of 55 and I am angry that my neighbouring LA has excellent service provision for younger adults yet a lot of it isn't available if you live outside the area, and in my area there is no provision for younger adults specifically. As a professional I feel strongly about the issue but it doesn't compare to the emotions that I will inevitably feel if the day comes when my FIL requires residential care and every other resident is 10 years older than him at best. I find the thought of it more upsetting than a professional with no personal connection would ever feel, though many would undoubtedly be frustrated that there isn't a better option.

I'm not the most experienced of social workers but I wholeheartedly try to provide for everyone who has a need, not just the individual or the carer but both where it is possible. Sometimes it simply isn't. In your case there was clearly no need to change something that was already working. That's not fair and I can only imagine that it came down to money and they weren't open about that, which they should be if that is the issue. It isn't a nice conversation to talk about cuts with people but it is a reality of the world we live in at the moment. I think people would appreciate the openness even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear. It would be better than a **** and bull story about the person's needs being met or not.


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MLM

Registered User
Jun 17, 2014
130
0
Manchester
I'm sure you can imagine how easily this becomes complicated when two different relatives have different views about what they think their loved one would want in terms of care, and it is amazing how many people have capacity but because their relative wants something else that meets their needs better we should deem them to lack capacity. Sometimes it WOULD work out better as well, but that doesn't mean social workers can insist people do something or emotionally coerce them into making a decision that they don't want to make, and that's hard because we are effectively telling people that they cannot do what they think is best if their loved one doesn't want it.
There can be a fine line between something that is an unwise decision but their own choice and a decision that isn't made with capacity. As we naturally want to protect our loved ones from harm sometimes we can stop them taking the riskier decisions that bring with them a better quality of life, so when I say an objective person (and not necessarily a professional but perhaps a frank friend) and help us to take those risks with people.

It isn't something that can be done by reading a case file or hearing one person's version of events though. If it was that easy then we would all be sleeping better at night, but as we all know it is hard to know what is best for ourselves at times, never mind the people who we love or people we may not even personally know but meet professionally and have to make sense of very difficult circumstances and needs and somehow make it all keep ticking over smoothly!


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LYN T

Registered User
Aug 30, 2012
6,958
0
Brixham Devon
I'm sorry that you weren't listened to. It should never come down to money, at least in my opinion, though sadly the NHS is heavily focused on savings and efficiency, as are many LAs, and there is a huge pressure on all professionals to find ways to save money whilst still meeting the needs that we have to provide services forwould ever feel, though many would undoubtedly be frustrated that there isn't a better option.

That's not fair and I can only imagine that it came down to money and they weren't open about that, which they should be if that is the issue. It isn't a nice conversation to talk about cuts with people but it is a reality of the world we live in at the moment. I think people would appreciate the openness even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear. It would be better than a **** and bull story about the person's needs being met or not.


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The CHC were funding Pete-they held the purse strings.CHC never once mentioned the costs involved in Pete's care. They never suggested they agreed with the MHT either-as a matter of fact they increased the help given to the CH after the first meeting. The CHC lady actually told them that she wasn't going to change Pete's CH as both the CH and myself were happy with the situation. That should have been the end of it-but, of course, they tried again to move him. As I say they had their own agenda-namely ticking boxes.
 

MLM

Registered User
Jun 17, 2014
130
0
Manchester
What boxes do you think they were trying to tick?

I'm genuinely just interested here as I don't actually know much about MHTs and what their agendas may be. I've not come across anything like this in the short time I've been a social worker.


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LYN T

Registered User
Aug 30, 2012
6,958
0
Brixham Devon
What boxes do you think they were trying to tick?

I'm genuinely just interested here as I don't actually know much about MHTs and what their agendas may be. I've not come across anything like this in the short time I've been a social worker.


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The area in which I live have had a lot of 'reorganisation' due to funding cuts. That covers daycare, carers services and the shutting of MH wards. The MHU wanted to move Pete because they could close his very complex case.He was very 'time intensive'-their words not mine. I don't know how they would have achieved that when the largest care company in the area I live refused to offer him care because of a very stressful respite. (I was moving house at the time).They claimed to be Dementia experts but, apparently, they had never come across anyone as needy as Pete. Unfortunately for them, the MHT had to contend with a joint effort by myself and the CH to keep Pete where he was. As I have previously stated their boxes were not ticked because the CHC refused to move him. They couldn't complete their agenda. I would like to add that Pete's CPN also supported us-no offense but Pete's SW had no idea about Pete's needs and wanted to agree to the MHT's agenda
 

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