Good news of sorts

[sheila d]

I posted yesterday about the problems we have had in getting mum assessed. Well today the pyschiatrist visited and we had a meeting with her consultant.

She has been diagnosed with dementia, which is what I think I expected and her MMSE score is 20. It seems that this is some sort of qualifying magical score because the psychiatrist has said that if her score was 20 or less she could be given Aricept.

What should I do now?

Given this diagnosis and her significant mobility difficulties, I have been wondering about whether she might qualify for NHS continuing care. Has anyone on here successfully applied for this under the new Oct 07 guidlines ?

We have an EPA set up but not yet registered. I cannot see any benefit at the present time to registering this, but am I missing anything?

Dad has reviewed their wills and wants to change to tenants in common with a protected property trust.I think this should still be possible, as Mum still has, I believe, mental capacity.

Is there anything else that I should be considering at this stage ?


Finally thanks to everyone who takes the trouble to reply to these posts, it really does mean a lot. I am considering getting my 85 yr old dad a computer now, as I think he would benefit from an online community. He's not coping very well at the moment.

 

[christine_batch]

Dear Sheila,
My husband was placed in E.M.I. Unit last May and I have been paying to-up fees.
The Care Home informed me that my husband should be receiving nhs continuing care.
Last Friday, when the Consultant came to see my husband, I was told it had been granted.
The S.W. was not sure of rules and regulations but the C.H. were brilliant with their advice.
Good luck.
Christine

 

[Grannie G]

. I am considering getting my 85 yr old dad a computer now, as I think he would benefit from an online community. He's not coping very well at the moment.

Please do Sheila, he will be so welcomed.

 

[jenniferpa]

While I think you're probably right that your mother still has capacity, I'm not sure what he's trying to achieve by doing this. For a start, in the event that your mother needs residential care the jointly owned marital home would be disregarded unless and until it was sold (if, for example, your father decided to downsize). There is nothing that can be done legally to protect your mother's share of the property from being used to pay care fees in the event that your father predeceased her. Obviously it would be wise for your father to revise his will if he wishes to protect his share, but other than that, I think you could end up spending a certain amount of money on legal fees without any actual benefit.

I don't know how the guidelines are panning out. However, I have to say that 20 is not an especially low score so unless they really have changed things considerably, I doubt that this will produce fully funded NHS care, even with mobility problems.