Hi all,
So, my mother-in-law's husband, Harold, developed Dementia some time ago and became quite aggressive and paranoid with it. My mother-in-law, Dorothea, to her absolute credit, coped admirably until the end of his life. This forum was really, really helpful during this time, allowing me to give her advice from people who'd already been through it all.
Now I'm back, because sadly her Mum, Barbara, has now developed all the signs of Dementia. However we have a big problem because, unlike Harold, she's been good at dodging diagnosis and therefore has not received the help she needs. You've guessed it - no Power of Attorney. She has recently nose dived and its become much more obvious, but her doctors practice is small and doctors keep leaving for better opportunities. So there is no way of a constant doctor seeing her decline. They ignore Dorothea's letters and requests for help (understandably - she's not the patient), but it means that Barbara can refuse a doctor's visit.
Is there any way to force the doctor to do more regular check ups? Barbara is 94.
Is there a medical body we can complain too?
We really want Barbara to stay in her own home, but she can only do that if she accepts carers coming in 4 times a day to make sure she takes her tablets. She WILL end up in hospital if she doesn't take her tablets. We ring, we've set up an alarm, but essentially she says she has, but it's either lies (she thinks she doesn't need them) or she thinks she has and she hasn't.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
So, my mother-in-law's husband, Harold, developed Dementia some time ago and became quite aggressive and paranoid with it. My mother-in-law, Dorothea, to her absolute credit, coped admirably until the end of his life. This forum was really, really helpful during this time, allowing me to give her advice from people who'd already been through it all.
Now I'm back, because sadly her Mum, Barbara, has now developed all the signs of Dementia. However we have a big problem because, unlike Harold, she's been good at dodging diagnosis and therefore has not received the help she needs. You've guessed it - no Power of Attorney. She has recently nose dived and its become much more obvious, but her doctors practice is small and doctors keep leaving for better opportunities. So there is no way of a constant doctor seeing her decline. They ignore Dorothea's letters and requests for help (understandably - she's not the patient), but it means that Barbara can refuse a doctor's visit.
Is there any way to force the doctor to do more regular check ups? Barbara is 94.
Is there a medical body we can complain too?
We really want Barbara to stay in her own home, but she can only do that if she accepts carers coming in 4 times a day to make sure she takes her tablets. She WILL end up in hospital if she doesn't take her tablets. We ring, we've set up an alarm, but essentially she says she has, but it's either lies (she thinks she doesn't need them) or she thinks she has and she hasn't.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
