How is everyone managing in the heatwave

silkiest

Registered User
Feb 9, 2017
865
0
Mum with alzheimers is staying indoors and always drinks plenty so she's ok.
MIL Alzheimers also is totally different. She always turns her fire on and may think to wear lighter clothing. OH is ringing every morning in this heatwave to get her to turn the fire off. Her standing order for gas and electricity has gone up to £400 and she lives mainly in one room! I checked on her hive thermostat yesterday and it was still at 30.5 degrees (86.9 Fahrenheit) 7pm yesterday.
My OH is extremely annoyed with me as I disabled her gas fire this morning as I could't cope with the heat. He thinks it should be her decision to have the fire on all day. What does everyone else think?
 

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
Hi @silkiest - I too would disable the gas fire - especially in this heat and with the cost of heating going up so much. It can’t possibly be good for her. My dad used to do the same and then open all the doors and windows because it was too hot!

Maybe a decorative electric fire would be a worthwhile investment ?
 

silkiest

Registered User
Feb 9, 2017
865
0
We've been looking at alternative fires but we have to keep a fireguard up otherwise she burns her legs and gets ulcers from sitting too close. We need something freestanding with top controls and the decorative ones tend to have controls at the bottom or worse still remote controls which she couldn't use.
 

jennifer1967

Registered User
Mar 15, 2020
23,142
0
Southampton
you or she would melt with the fire on. expensive as well which she may not have noticed but will i expect. we have an electric fire that the buttons are just under the top. its got coal effect on top and bars on the bottom. we got it second- hand. we can put the light on so it looks like its on but isnt turned on.
 

Feeling unsupported

Registered User
Jul 9, 2021
158
0
It has occurred to me that as well as the obvious worries and concerns caused by PWD leaving appliances etc switched on, it is also very costly now. Again, their problems are being overlooked. My PWD is in a nursing home, but fees are rising, no doubt affected by the increasing energy costs. However, as she is not directly paying the energy bill, there is no financial assistance, not even the winter heating allowance now.:mad:
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
not even the winter heating allowance now.
It depends on certain benefits whether Winter Fuel Payment is paid

Eligibility

You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:
  • you were born on or before 25 September 1956
  • you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 - this is called the ‘qualifying week
.....
.....
You will not qualify if you:

  • are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
  • need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you cannot claim public funds
  • were in prison for the whole week from 19 to 25 September 2022
  • lived in a care home for the whole time from 27 June to 25 September 2022, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

....

....

How much you'll get

Any money you get is tax-free and will not affect your other benefits.

Born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956Born on or before 25 September 1942
You qualify and live alone (or none of the people you live with qualify)£500£600
You qualify and live with someone under 80 who also qualifies£250£350
You qualify and live with someone 80 or over who also qualifies£250£300
You qualify, live in a care home and do not get certain benefits£250£300


 

jennifer1967

Registered User
Mar 15, 2020
23,142
0
Southampton
every household is getting £400 seniors are getting a one off £300 and those that have attendance allowance/ pip/ disability benefits will get one off £150. we also get the warm homefront you can have if you have pension credit which is £140 that they take off the electric. some energy companies do this and some dont.
 

Pork Pie lady

Registered User
Mar 16, 2013
677
0
Anglia
This is not just about the cost/environmental impact. She is clearly not able to make wise decisions and is putting herself in serious danger, this is a safeguarding issue. I would respectfully suggest that if she is making such dangerous decisions she probably needs much more in the way of care/supervision to keep her safe.
 

northumbrian_k

Volunteer Host
Mar 2, 2017
4,415
0
Newcastle
My wife would complain about the heat so I said she should take off one or more of the 20 layers that she was wearing ...

When she said that she was cold I would tell her to put on the coat that she always carried over her handbag

Then it struck me that, like so much else, she has forgotten what hot and cold feel like. Not only that, in searching for a word to describe this, sometimes 'cold' came to mind even when she was hot, and vice versa.

It is unwise to follow what people with dementia say or do because they may mean something else entirely. Hence it is up to us as carers - and wider society - to take action to protect them from themselves. Disabling a gas fire in hot weather would be an example of that.
 

wilko73

Registered User
Feb 8, 2021
222
0
We open the windows for 10 minutes at about 6.30am when it's cooler to push the warm air out of the house then close the windows and keep the curtains shut until about 6pm I have opened the loft hatch to let heat esacpe upwards .Mum is bed bound and just has a sheet over her.The benefit I find is that the road I live in is very quiet when it's hot as people stay indoors so no garden machinery to annoy me.
I do feel sorry for the carers as it's hot work for them and I always offer them cold drinks,they like it that our home is cool and shaded so it's pleasant for their visits