I have been contemplating giving up work to care for my husband, who has been on Aricept for 5 years and is declining gradually. He is safe at home, but I am not comfortable leaving him, even with my daughter calling in during her lunch hour. The biggest juggling act is early morning: I have to leave before 8am, he is rarely ready to 'function' before 9am.
General advice is 'not to give up work'. Social Services said "if you were a man, you would not think about giving up work". They said there's lots of help available. 6 months on, I am still waiting ...... (no surprise to most of you reading this, I am sure).
We have a brilliant CPN, a care worker for my husband (who actually raised my hopes with the above statement, and whom we have not seen nor heard from for months since then), and a care worker for myself, who spent many hours doing a carer's assessment, then went off on leave. Day care has been offered, and we are still trying to get him there, but there are obviously practical problems associated with this.
I have not been offered a care plan yet (although I have been asked to write one, which I did), but Direct Payments have been mentioned.
I am a bit worried: how would I go about finding a suitable carer, who would vet him/her, how much would they charge, and most importantly, how is the amount for direct payments worked out? How often is it reviewed?
Am I right in thinking that a care plan with carers coming in (ideally) every weekday morning to get my hubby sorted out after I have left for work would be a safer bet?
I would be grateful for your experiences / advice!
General advice is 'not to give up work'. Social Services said "if you were a man, you would not think about giving up work". They said there's lots of help available. 6 months on, I am still waiting ...... (no surprise to most of you reading this, I am sure).
We have a brilliant CPN, a care worker for my husband (who actually raised my hopes with the above statement, and whom we have not seen nor heard from for months since then), and a care worker for myself, who spent many hours doing a carer's assessment, then went off on leave. Day care has been offered, and we are still trying to get him there, but there are obviously practical problems associated with this.
I have not been offered a care plan yet (although I have been asked to write one, which I did), but Direct Payments have been mentioned.
I am a bit worried: how would I go about finding a suitable carer, who would vet him/her, how much would they charge, and most importantly, how is the amount for direct payments worked out? How often is it reviewed?
Am I right in thinking that a care plan with carers coming in (ideally) every weekday morning to get my hubby sorted out after I have left for work would be a safer bet?
I would be grateful for your experiences / advice!