New and needing advice please

[Daffodil72]

My mam has been recently diagnosed but has experienced a rapid decline. Has gone from being independent and living alone to requiring a lot of support within months.She is currently in hospital following an episode of delirium which resulted in an accidental overdose. Now medically fit, I am trying to navigate the discharge process. Which seems like a minefield. Following assessment it has been agreed that she will be discharged home to see how she manages. She will have care three times a day to support with her needs and administer medication. I live over two hours away at best and don’t know how this works when I can’t assist. Do carers offer support with such things as shopping, cleaning , cooking and laundry. And am I expected to pay for all of this up front or can payment wait until the financial assessment has taken place?

If you’ve made it this far thank you . And if any of you have any advice, I’m all ears. Thank you and take care x

 

[Gosling]

Hello @Daffodil72 and welcome to this forum. You will find us a very supportive and friendly bunch of people who have first hand experience of all the various aspects of dementia. I am glad you have found us.

I am sorry to read of your Mam's diagnosis and her rapid decline. It's just horrible, isn't it, to witness a loved one decline so rapidly. I do feel for you.
It is good that she is now ready for discharge from hospital and that a care package has been put in place for her once back home. I am assuming you are in the UK and that this has been arranged through local Social Services. You would not normally be expected to pay upfront - but try to get the financial assessment done as quickly as possible.
You hopefully will find this link useful:

Paying for dementia care in England

Dementia care isn't free, and you may need to pay for some of the care you or someone you know needs. We help you understand the different ways to pay for care, and the amount you might be expected to pay.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

Please do remember, you will always find understanding here from members that want to help.

 

[try again]

My mums carers would put chilled meals , make porridge in microwave and make sandwiches. They put a wash on each day and kept the place relatively tidy though didn't clean as such.
I ordered food for her and it was delivered to my house and I took it round to her.
Mum had over the 23500 savings so we knew she would pay for it. It was invoiced monthly via the local council and as I had poa, I arranged payment.
I never found a prepayment card for the carers to be able to buy small items, though I believe there are now some good ones around .

 

[canary]

Hello @Daffodil72

Carers are usually brought in to do things like helping people get washed and dressed, administering medication and getting them back to bed. They may also make meals like heating up a ready meal or making a sandwich. Sometimes they may do a bit of housework, but they dont usually have time to do much. They may put some laundry in the washing machine (usually things like soiled bedding or towels), but they wont hang around until the cycle has finished as they have other clients to visit and are usually on a tight schedule. They dont usually do shopping. They certainly wont do things like organise medical appointments, take her to said appointments, request repeat prescriptions or sort out any repairs required to the house

Is the hospital social worker aware of how far away you are? Quite often SWs just assume that there will be family around to do other things.