.hi I have just joined the group, sorry to hear about your dad, your dad does meet chc fast track criteria, the nurses on the ward should do it,all CHC once granted is reviewed after 3 months.if granted CHC will give you the list of chc beds in nursing homes which are available.
I have told them and quoted the framework but it appears each trust works in different ways. The main issue is the “rapidly deteriorating” and apparently should not be assessed in hospital x
Thank you for your support, they have already said dad can have nursing care top up. Dad is self funding so we need time to find somewhere he can afford. At the moment £1200 a week is the best we have found. His house has been rented out this year to help with fees, so can’t sell at the moment. X
The rapidly deteriorating condition of your dad is exactly what fast track is for,for either home with a package of care, or nursing home. Do you know we're your dad wishes to be cared for,
The nursing care top up I think is £165 a week my dad gets that it comes off the weekly fee he pays so it is a little help,does dad get attendance allowance
Dad has been in a care home for the last 4 years but he is unable to return as they can’t meet his needs. To be honest, dad is oblivious to his surroundings. They have told us fast track is not an option for him. Basically, he had no where to go at the moment x
So very true, I am finding it very difficult coming to terms with my emotions. I think the battling is keeping me going at the moment. I feel in the middle of a whirlwind. X
i know that feeling too,my dad had Chc but was reviewed in June and it was withdrawn,as he did not meet criteria,so he is now self funding, from savings, he does meet criteria now, my only worry would be we could get funding but they could turn round and say they can't pay for the current bed he is in because it is too expensive and we could end up having to go to a cheaper home, which would be to disruptive to him
But if they did the checklist properly your dad would get lots of A and B which would then lead to fast tracking, just keep on at them,
Were we are they don't allow top up,I have already asked, the system stinks,he had to pay for his care at home before going into the home,but he became ill and the McMillan nurse got us the fast track, but because he improved in the review it was taken away, but now he is almost completely bed bound,needing hoisting, doubly incontinent, and deteriorating ,but in the new year I will get it looked at again
Thank you, I will xthank you so much fo
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. It seems you were in exactly the same place as us. We have not seen or heard from any social workers. Like you Since complaining to PALs and CCG, no one seems to want to talk to us. It is a constant battle to get the care our loved ones deserve. XWe had a similar problem when we complained to PALS - the staff turned against the family and we were even told by the consultant that a referral to cardiology had been 'delayed' because we had complained to PALS. When Mum was finally discharged the discharge letter stated that the referral had been made but we subsequently found out that it hadn't! Mum had a prolonged stay in hospital and to quote the social worker, this was because 'discussions' were on going with regards to who was going to pay for Mum's care on discharge. The discharge team actually told me that the purpose of the CHC assessment was funding, so care needs obviously weren't deemed important. The CHC National Framework should be followed by every NHS Trust but from personal experience some seem to 'interpret' this differently.
Mum was placed on the 'discharge to assess' pathway - aimed at speeding up discharge - which meant that the NHS paid for a bed in a care home for the first 28 days after discharge pending a full CHC DST assessment (the check list was completed in the hospital). As they have now assessed your Dad as needing a pathway 3 bed the discharge team/CCG should be taking steps to find a suitable placement. As galling as it is that they deem him not to be eligible for fast-track the priority should be to get your Dad out of the hospital as soon as possible as it is not a good environment for those with dementia - he can then get assessed in the nursing home. Trying to fight the decision not to fast track him now will take a lot of time and energy. We complained to both the CCG and the hospital trust about their failure to follow the CHC National Framework and the matter has been continually delayed by them, with numerous excuses or simply ignoring the complaint, so it has been an endless battle. We found that submitting complaints to PALS whilst Mum was in hospital just made things worse for her. The family were even blamed for Mum not being discharged earlier because we had asked for the CHC checklist to be completed properly
If it's any consolation, the hospital treated Mum as though she was 'end of life' but she has thrived since discharge and is doing really well, almost 2 years after the hospital had 'written her off'. Without going into specifics it was the lack of care that had made her deteriorate in the hospital - the hospital has now conceded that their care fell well below the levels expected. Have you managed to speak to a hospital social worker as suggested earlier in the thread? If you're lucky you may find someone helpful but as a self-funder possibly not. I wish you luck and hopefully things will get moving now that Christmas is over. We did find that the dementia team at the hospital were very supportive (although their advice was ignored by the medical team) so maybe try to speak to them if the hospital has one as battling the system on your own is a lonely position to be in. It seems that there are some hospitals that do things properly and others that don't and if you are dealing with one that doesn't it takes it toll on family/carers so you need to chose which battles to fight.
Thank you for your support, I’m hoping that things start to happen soon and he is moved for assessments xx
