Notice served by Dads care home

[Pinksasparilla]

Dad has been a resident for almost 4 years at his present care home - 3 1/2 of which he has self funded - he is late stage mixed Alzheimer’s with dementia and has deteriorated gradually - he has behaviour issues around personal care and has become aggressive and verbally abusive - out of the blue I received a call today telling me they could no longer provide the right care and through adult social care had decided he needs more advanced care and would be serving 4 weeks notice on him - a bit of a shock for us all - dad failed a CHC assessment last year and we haven’t attempted one since however my question is whether now he needs more care we can claim CHC again - I’m worried my mum will have to pay
And after having spent over 80 thousand of his savings I am so upset about the whole situation
I am also concerned as to what will happen if no suitable place is found close by for us to visit. Does anyone have experience of this please - I would be most grateful of advice thank you

 

[Veritas]

Dad has been a resident for almost 4 years at his present care home - 3 1/2 of which he has self funded - he is late stage mixed Alzheimer’s with dementia and has deteriorated gradually - he has behaviour issues around personal care and has become aggressive and verbally abusive - out of the blue I received a call today telling me they could no longer provide the right care and through adult social care had decided he needs more advanced care and would be serving 4 weeks notice on him - a bit of a shock for us all - dad failed a CHC assessment last year and we haven’t attempted one since however my question is whether now he needs more care we can claim CHC again - I’m worried my mum will have to pay
And after having spent over 80 thousand of his savings I am so upset about the whole situation
I am also concerned as to what will happen if no suitable place is found close by for us to visit. Does anyone have experience of this please - I would be most grateful of advice thank you

First thing to say is that your mum will not have to pay for your father's care, out of her money, wherever he lands up.

Definitely reactivate the CHC discussion in any case. I don't think the home has handled this particularly well if their call to you came out of the blue! I'd suggest getting on the radar of social services very quickly if you aren't already. The priority is to find a new home that can meet his needs, and you may have to accept him being further away as the trade off. That said, your mother's needs come into the equation too, so if she would have difficulty visiting any home that is suggested, and there is a more convenient one that is able to meet his needs, you can and should make sure social services know this.

 

[Sphynx]

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/demen...e-home-what-do-if-person-dementia-asked-leave


I found this link which might help with some signposting. The cynic in me finds it strange that so soon after your Dad is no longer fully funding his care they have decided they can’t meet need. Ask them exactly what behaviour he has that means he has become more difficult to care for.

As for CHC I phoned one of the solicitor firms which pop up on Google if you search for legal help. Someone contacted me and went through her needs and was able to say she wouldn’t be eligible yet. It was helpful, I think I would probably pay for legal help if they said there was a chance because these processes can be such a minefield. If your Dad has no other underlying health care issues which need clinical management it might be he still won’t be eligible.

I sorry you are having to go through this. I worry myself about my Mum having to be moved for this reason.

 

[canary]

he has behaviour issues around personal care and has become aggressive and verbally abusive

I suspect that this is the reason why your dad has been given notice - it is a very common reason for care homes to do this.

Yes, once you get to a new care home (I would suggest you look at EMI homes) you can ask for a new assessment, but without a new underlying health issue he may still not be eligible.

 

[Arthurgeorge]

Has he been assessed by a dementia team or mental health team or doctor?
My relatives had challenging behaviour and were taken under section for assessment in hospital. The medications were changed and a best interest meeting was held and a new home was found (EMI).
Also 1 to 1 care is good, and was suggested and sorted recently by the home, as a relative sleeps a lot, then gets agitated for a few hours. They get 1 to 1 for that.
Your father’s current home obviously can’t cope. Have you spoken to social services?
It is not easy this caring thing. You are doing your best. Best Wishes.

 

[SAP]

It’s not unusual for a home to do this when behaviour becomes too challenging, even some EMI homes will do this ( happened to my mum)
Definitely get Mental Health Services for Olde People ( MHSOP) involved, they should be local to your dad via the health trust and ask social services to get involved. Tell them you need expert advice about where he can go .
I didn’t think your dad will get CHC for behaviour but if he has other worsening health conditions it maybe worth looking into.
Your mum will not have to pay for his care out of any of her own money or savings and she won’t have to sell her home as she is still living in it. Sadly your dads saving will be used for his care but remember if the have joint savings 50% is considered to be your mums.

 

[jugglingmum]

When my mum got aggressive around personal care they involved the gp and mental health team. The mental health team outlined a planned meditation route, starting slowly. We were lucky and it didn't require much. If medication hasn't been tried it is worth a try.

Your dad might still have to move. I only looked at EMI homes for mum but accepted behaviours varied.

 

[Dave63]

Sorry you're going through this @Pinksasparilla, and I too would be annoyed to only be given 4 weeks notice, especially after being resident there for four years. Did the home not arrange a best interests meeting prior to yesterdays call?

Anyway, the priority now is finding your dad a more suitable home which, if he is LA funded, you should be getting advised by social services about the options that are available. If his current home are finding his behaviour challenging then may be new care needs assessment is required to establish his true levels of need to ensure he gets on the right path to the right kind of home. I also agree with @jugglingmum about medication review, my mums behaviour became challenging in her first care home and resulted in us having to move her after a best interests meeting. However, after involvement of the mental health team and adjustment of her meds she is now much better.

As for CHC the social worker should be able to get the ball rolling on organising another assessment. If his needs have changed significantly then it's appropriate another assessment should be arranged. Behaviour is one of the 12 domains reviewed during assessment so it's only right that he should be reassessed now that aspect has significantly changed.

 

[Pinksasparilla]

Thank you so much everyone - this forum is such a useful medium - dad has been medicated for some time and under the care of the mental health team - the behaviour has been going on for some time - but there was never any suggestion that he would
Need to move and thus my shock when I got the phone call yesterday and letter today - If there has been a best interests meeting I am furious that I wasn’t asked to be present as I have always played an active role as dads daughter and RPR - I do appreciate he may have better care in a more specialised care home - but I am worried where they will place him.

 

[Pinksasparilla]

I am now awaiting contact from his social worker who will re assess him and find new options for suitable accommodation - I will post on here with any updates

 

[canary]

If there has been a best interests meeting I am furious that I wasn’t asked to be present as I have always played an active role as dads daughter and RPR

There isnt usually a Best Interest meeting. If the home feels that they are no longer able to meet their needs they can just issue notice, although Im sorry that they didnt indicate that there were problems.
Has there been a recent much bigger problem that might have triggered this?

 

[Pinksasparilla]

So I have been contacted by adult social care who will be completing a care act assessment and an advanced assessment to see if he qualifies for enhanced care this coming Thursday - I will attend and I’m really hoping for an outcome of advanced care being g needed which give us two options of specialist care otherwise we will be looking for another care home who will be prepared to take him which could be difficult- any one have any knowledge of the criteria for the advance assessment please ?

 

[Kevinl]

If he's a danger to himself, the other residents and the staff then they have no choice but to ask you to find somewhere that can meet his needs.
It's not nice but what else can they do?
K

 

[Pinksasparilla]

If he's a danger to himself, the other residents and the staff then they have no choice but to ask you to find somewhere that can meet his needs.
It's not nice but what else can they do?
K

I totally agree with you - I was just upset that the decision by them came out of the blue - with a phone call - we have a good relationship with he care home and dads behaviour has been challenging for some time - maybe I have been naive thinking he would always be there ….. I will update the thread once the meeting has taken place

 

[Lausc22]

I totally agree with you - I was just upset that the decision by them came out of the blue - with a phone call - we have a good relationship with he care home and dads behaviour has been challenging for some time - maybe I have been naive thinking he would always be there ….. I will update the thread once the meeting has taken place

Hi, do you have updates on your Dad’s situation. We are in a very similar situation with our Dad and would be so helpful to hear how you have got on. 🙏🏻

 

[Gosling]

Hello @Lausc22 and firstly welcome to this friendly and supportive forum. There is lots of shared experience of dementia here so I am glad you have found us.

I'm sorry to read about your Dad's situation too. I have no direct experience of this situation , but I just wanted to welcome you. and say that this is a great place for sound advice, suggestions if you need them, and information. So do have a good look around the forums and ask any particular questions you may like to. Also a good place to let off a bit of steam when you need to.

 

[Alisongs]

Dad has been a resident for almost 4 years at his present care home - 3 1/2 of which he has self funded - he is late stage mixed Alzheimer’s with dementia and has deteriorated gradually - he has behaviour issues around personal care and has become aggressive and verbally abusive - out of the blue I received a call today telling me they could no longer provide the right care and through adult social care had decided he needs more advanced care and would be serving 4 weeks notice on him - a bit of a shock for us all - dad failed a CHC assessment last year and we haven’t attempted one since however my question is whether now he needs more care we can claim CHC again - I’m worried my mum will have to pay
And after having spent over 80 thousand of his savings I am so upset about the whole situation
I am also concerned as to what will happen if no suitable place is found close by for us to visit. Does anyone have experience of this please - I would be most grateful of advice thank you

Just a thought. Not nice to serve notice like that, but if you need more than four weeks to find a better home, don't collect him at the four week point. They're hardly likely to be able to get him out under his own steam! And it could create bad publicity if they did evict him. Hospital admission if no new home within four weeks. They'd have to find a suitable place

 

[Pinksasparilla]

Hi, do you have updates on your Dad’s situation. We are in a very similar situation with our Dad and would be so helpful to hear how you have got on. 🙏🏻

Hi yes I do have the best news - so adult social care who are called Navigo in my area assessed my dad and agreed he was in need of enhanced care - fortunately he was found a new home very close to where my mum lives and from moving in has been the most settled he has ever been - the care home and the team of amazing staff are able to handle dads issues much better than a normal care home and dad is the best he has been in a long time ! Only a maximum of 12 residents on the unit with carers present in the room at all time - his behaviour has actually settled so much and we couldn’t be happier - so from a nightmare of being given notice we have found the most supportive place for dad - had I known about enhanced care before I would absolutely have pushed for it sooner
I do hope you too are able to find a suitable accommodation with enhanced care

 

[SAP]

@Pinksasparilla that is great news.