new user

[clare]

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Only just joined but have been reading posts for a while. Mum has been suffering with dementia for approx 5yrs although only diagnosed June of this year when her aggressive and violent behavior became too much for my dad to cope with. She has been in a care home for 2 months now. Still very aggressive and unsettled. Medication still not quite right.

Anyway my question is that we have been asked to attend a care assessment for mum next week at the care home. Can anyone tell me what this might involve, which agencies will be present and will mum also be there. Not really looking forward to it, as i think mumis no becoming violent towards her carers.

Thanks
Great site and has already been a lot of help and information for me.

Clare

 

[Brucie]

I have the annual assessment meeting at Jan's home next week. Generally, there's me, Jan's GP, chief nurse at the home, representative of SS, and a representative of the NHS Trust that is funding her care.

 

[connie]

Lionel is not in a a home, but does go into day care twice a week.
We regularly have assessments, usually Lionel & myself, His principle carer at the home and his C.P.N. Please don't worry, it is for everybodies piece of mind. It is a way forward, to plan for the future. Much better than letting things stagnate
Connie

 

[Kathleen]

Hello

Mum has never had an assessment, has been diagnosed for over three years and been in a secure EMI home for a year.
Now we are trying to get NHS funding will she have an assessment? I don.t know anything about them at all.
Kathleen
xx

 

[blue sea]

Welcome to TP, Clare

I think everyone has to have an assessment if they are to receive NHS nursing costs. This is just to establish they need nursing funding and which band they should be in. This review is by a community nurse, and is really purely to establish the funding level, not about type of care. The level of nursing funding is reviewed at least yearly, more frequently if the person's condition is unstable.

At the home dad's in, residents funded by Social services also get an assessment every 6 months, with , social sevice, nurse, carers and relatives present. I expect rules on this vary according to where you live. Those privately funded, like dad, don't have an entitlement to a review, but the home dad is in is happy to have a review meeting between me and their nurses/ carers whenever I want. This I ask for whenever dad's condition changes. If a referral is made to psychiatric services, they do reviews, usually involving the CPN (community psychiatric nurse - very good in my experience.) I think whether the resident is present is very much a matter of sensitivity and common sense - ie no rules on this one - depends on whether everyone, including relative feels it would be beneficial or harmful for the resident, though I know some social workers have rather a fixed view that the person should always be involved - but you are entitled to your view too.

Clare, you might find it helpful to read my thread about quetiapine as dad recently went through a very aggressive phase. I'm not suggesting this is the right medication for your mum, just suggesting that a CPN assessment might well be the best way forward. They are the specialists, the GPs can be very good but cannot prescribe a lot of the stronger medication.

Thinking of you
Blue sea

 

[clare]

Thanks to everyone who has replied

Mum is already on Quetiapine 25ml (not sure if this is a small dose or not). but so far does not seem to help her aggression. She always hits either dad or myself when we visit for no apparent reason (sometimes just for agreeing with her). She also is very depressed, and cries and talks about killing herself. For a person who cannot hold a conversation her vocab on suicide is wonderful.

Her new gp is arranging for the CPN to visit her, but as yet she has not seen her.(is there always a delay?)
Perhaps this is what they want to talk about in her assesment on Monday. Maybe the CPN will be there. The care home arranged this assesment with Dad on the Phone so i didnt get all the details,

Mum was in Hospital being assessed for 4 weeks up to August and released into the care home afterwards and we were given the immpression that her medication had been sorted. I suppose sometimes the condition alters rapidly.

thanks Clare

 

[blue sea]

Clare
I think 25 ml is a small dose. Dad has been started on 25ml 3 times a day and the nurse described this as low. I think all new medication takes time to 'settle' and I am sure it needs to be reviewed frequently particularly in the early stages. Also the nature of dementia is that you sometimes you get extreme sudden changes. Unfortunately you sometimes need to make a nuisance of yourself to get the health services to respond quickly. While you are coping - or they think you - are you go to the end of their list. If you feel there is a real physical danger to your mum or tothose of you close to her you may have to shout!!!

Hope the assessment meeting helps.

Blue sea

 

[Lynne]

"It's the squeakiest wheel that gets the grease" ...

in my experience - so I'm just agreeing with what Blue Sea said. Fight for what's due to you (and your AD victim)

 

[clare]

Hi

Had a really good meeting today with Mums Social Worker and CPN. They are going to get mums medication increased. It seems things have been delayed and communication was not at its best because the care home is in a different district to where she originally saw a consultant, and as yet her info hasn’t followed her.

Mum seemed slightly brighter, but still constantly asks me to take her back to her mum and Dad. (Died years ago of course). I haven’t found a way of dealing with this. Her carers say try to distract her, but it doesn’t work, and I can’t tell her that they both died years ago. Any ideas? I’m told this is quite a common request with dementia sufferers so maybe several of you will have experience of this. Mum want to go home but to her childhood home.


Thanks
Clare

 

[connie]

Clare, of course you cannot tell her the truth. This comes as a bereavement each time. if they take it in.
Try distraction. When she asks after someone in particular, try getting he to tell you a special reminisance about them. i.e. Where is Dad?..........you say, "tell me something special about him, what first drew you together, or what do you feel best about him"......distraction I know, but it sometimes works. Take care, Connie

 

[Brucie]

I'd try the line: "they are on holiday at the moment but will see you when they are back" or "they asked me to tell you they have the most terrible colds at the moment". Then move on to something else to distract them.

Later in life you will be qualified to enter Parliament as a politician......

 

[Mjaqmac]

Clare my mum was non stop with the wanting to go home and where's my mum and dad questions. At the beginning when we didn't know she had Alz, dad and I told her they were dead, it started the grieving process all over again for her, I can't believe how cruel it was of us, but she hadn't been diagnosed and we didn't understand Alzheimer's at all. Everytime she asked (which was even on her death bed in hospital) we had to tell her they were at church or gone to do the shopping. You feel bad, but it's better than upsetting them. I personally found the wanting to go home and where's mum quizz the most wearing thing about Alzheimer's disease.
Good luck, it's hard, but somehow you get through. Carers become very inventive, Brucie's right, you become a world class fibber, but it's only for their own protection.