Hi - appreciate that this may already have been discussed many times but I’m feeling quite panicked and don’t feel able to trawl through previous posts...
My Mum is 86, and was in the middle of the Dementia diagnosis process (had telephone assessments with Memory Clinic, they agreed some kind of Dementia but wanted brain scan to narrow down what type to decide on possible medication etc). We think she’s had dementia for several years (at least 5, or longer) but memory had worsened considerably in 2019 and self-care had begun to decline massively during 2020. She was living independently in her own home, with increasing support from me.
We had just got a care package arranged (self funded & arranged by me) at the end of March. One week in, the carer came in & found Mum on her bedroom floor having fallen.
She had broken her right hip & had a partial hip replacement surgery on 30th March. Following which she developed delirium and a UTI (not sure which came first). UTI was treated with antibiotics. The delirium continue. Since then she has been barely mobile (not sure whose fault this is... after surgery when they tried to get her up, she kept having a drop in blood pressure and they kept having to lie her back down).
To cut a long story short, 2 weeks ago she was discharged from hospital to a care home (of my choice - I didn’t want her moved again and had already had this particular home in mind). It is a care home (not nursing) but has a specialist dementia unit. She owns her own home & has savings so the hospital just went along with this, with no further discussion with me, no advice or other suggestions.
Mum arrived at the home unable to mobilise at all ( the hospital had lied & told the home she could mobilise with a zimmer. I knew this wasn’t true - when I spoke to the Ward sister the weekend before she left hospital she admitted to me that all the nurses were doing was lifting her from the bed to a chair and back - & to be honest I’m not even sure they were bothering to do that very often). They discharged her with NO ongoing Physiotherapy arranged (GP has now requested this ). She had (has) pressure sores on her feet & bottom, is barely eating & drinking, still has delirium & has no idea where she is.
The care home has District Nurses going in daily to give her injections (anti DVT I think) & the GP has now prescribed painkillers (she was discharged from hospital with NO painkilling medication). The home are giving her soft food and high-protein drinks. She has lost a considerable amount of weight while in hospital as I think she barely ate for 3 weeks +.
So my question is, bearing in mind that just over a month ago Mum was living alone & looking after herself pretty much, fully mobile, with no other health conditions & not on any medication at all, and now she is immobile, doubly incontinent, in pain, delirious etc. SURELY this is a Health problem.... surely she is ‘ill’. I keep reading that frailty is a ‘disease’. Should she qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, and if so, how should I go about getting her an assessment (bearing in mind she seems to have been ‘Dumped’ by the hospital as soon as I indicated that she was able to pay for her own care in a home of my choice ). What should I do about this? The care home costs over £5000 a month and will soon eat up all her savings and start to eat into whatever we can get when we sell her house.
I have no idea where I should even start with this.
Thanks.
My Mum is 86, and was in the middle of the Dementia diagnosis process (had telephone assessments with Memory Clinic, they agreed some kind of Dementia but wanted brain scan to narrow down what type to decide on possible medication etc). We think she’s had dementia for several years (at least 5, or longer) but memory had worsened considerably in 2019 and self-care had begun to decline massively during 2020. She was living independently in her own home, with increasing support from me.
We had just got a care package arranged (self funded & arranged by me) at the end of March. One week in, the carer came in & found Mum on her bedroom floor having fallen.
She had broken her right hip & had a partial hip replacement surgery on 30th March. Following which she developed delirium and a UTI (not sure which came first). UTI was treated with antibiotics. The delirium continue. Since then she has been barely mobile (not sure whose fault this is... after surgery when they tried to get her up, she kept having a drop in blood pressure and they kept having to lie her back down).
To cut a long story short, 2 weeks ago she was discharged from hospital to a care home (of my choice - I didn’t want her moved again and had already had this particular home in mind). It is a care home (not nursing) but has a specialist dementia unit. She owns her own home & has savings so the hospital just went along with this, with no further discussion with me, no advice or other suggestions.
Mum arrived at the home unable to mobilise at all ( the hospital had lied & told the home she could mobilise with a zimmer. I knew this wasn’t true - when I spoke to the Ward sister the weekend before she left hospital she admitted to me that all the nurses were doing was lifting her from the bed to a chair and back - & to be honest I’m not even sure they were bothering to do that very often). They discharged her with NO ongoing Physiotherapy arranged (GP has now requested this ). She had (has) pressure sores on her feet & bottom, is barely eating & drinking, still has delirium & has no idea where she is.
The care home has District Nurses going in daily to give her injections (anti DVT I think) & the GP has now prescribed painkillers (she was discharged from hospital with NO painkilling medication). The home are giving her soft food and high-protein drinks. She has lost a considerable amount of weight while in hospital as I think she barely ate for 3 weeks +.
So my question is, bearing in mind that just over a month ago Mum was living alone & looking after herself pretty much, fully mobile, with no other health conditions & not on any medication at all, and now she is immobile, doubly incontinent, in pain, delirious etc. SURELY this is a Health problem.... surely she is ‘ill’. I keep reading that frailty is a ‘disease’. Should she qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, and if so, how should I go about getting her an assessment (bearing in mind she seems to have been ‘Dumped’ by the hospital as soon as I indicated that she was able to pay for her own care in a home of my choice ). What should I do about this? The care home costs over £5000 a month and will soon eat up all her savings and start to eat into whatever we can get when we sell her house.
I have no idea where I should even start with this.
Thanks.
