Social Care Plan Delayed

[Female1952]

I've just read in the Guardian that the social care plan is to be delayed until the autumn. I'm not surprised.
What shocked me is that the government are still planning to "solve the social care crisis" by putting a cap on payments.
Is that the only problem faced by those in need of care and their carers? I don't think so. People need advice, support, a choice of care: day centres, respite, etc.
It's obvious from this forum that there are many things needed - different for each individual or each family.
For the government to simply say: Pay the first xx thousands of pounds and then the rest is free, is no solution at all.

 

[kindred]

Thank you. And from there it will be delayed until next year. I fear that any plan will focus on so called support to keep people at home. And as we know care packages are often pretty awful and stressful.
we need a named person to oversee each situation and for there to be a clear progression of support for both the person with dementia and the carer. It may be that this progression includes the option of a nursing home where appropriate. Without guilt or social services arguing against.
What I endured caring alone for my late husband at home no human being should have to go through. Even now I cannot recover fully from it. I guess I have long dementia.

 

[Melles Belles]

I believe the previous plans for social care largely revolved around keeping people in their own homes as long as possible (and longer than possible in fact) which is currently what is experienced currently among those relying on LA funding. So often spouses of PWD are made ill through stress before the LA agrees to fund especially as the home is a mandatory disregard as the spouse will still be living in it.
Capping the self funding to a certain limit will not really help unless more taxpayer cash is given to LAs to pay for support to stay at home and care in a carehome when is it required, not long after it is required. The needs of carers are largely ignored and that needs to change too.

 

[Melles Belles]

Not sure the govt has the foresight or the backbone to see it through and do a proper job of the legislation. It will be very difficult especially as the average person doesn’t understand dementia if they haven’t actually cared for a PWD before. Plus it will be very expensive and maybe not v popular when taxes have to rise to pay for it.

 

[Seaholly]

I couldn't agree more! There needs to be a full and comprehensive review of the system, starting right at the beginning, at diagnosis and why so many diagnoses are made so late in the day, leaving the PWD and their families already feeling hopeless and exhausted. I've said it so many times before and I would dearly love to tell Boris & Co. face-to-face, but the worst thing about mum's dementia is the fact that my dad died absolutely broken, not understanding what had become of his cheerful, caring and dynamic wife. He tortured himself, wondering what he's done! When he received an unexpected diagnosis of cancer with palliative care as the only option, I was with him. he just shrugged and said, "Well, none of us lasts forever!" The fight had gone out of him. Mum had little idea of what was going on and although we took her to see him every day in hospital and she was sleeping in the same room as him when he died, her memories have been skewed and she has moments of white-hot anger when she rails at us for 'keeping her apart' from Dad: leaving her in the hospital corridor while we went to see him and not telling her when he was dying!
The worst thing is that this just needn't have happened if their optician had been more on the ball. Mum's dementia began with her eyesight and because she had AMD, the optician just assumed her problems were the AMD, despite the fact her eyesight under test conditions wasn't all that bad! Likewise, Dad had no idea what the early stages of dementia looked like.

There needs to be proper training and help for those who choose to care for their family members. That's help and training, not flaming 'support'!!!

It amazes and humbles me that there are people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s struggling doing what I find so hard even in my 40s!

 

[kindred]

I couldn't agree more! There needs to be a full and comprehensive review of the system, starting right at the beginning, at diagnosis and why so many diagnoses are made so late in the day, leaving the PWD and their families already feeling hopeless and exhausted. I've said it so many times before and I would dearly love to tell Boris & Co. face-to-face, but the worst thing about mum's dementia is the fact that my dad died absolutely broken, not understanding what had become of his cheerful, caring and dynamic wife. He tortured himself, wondering what he's done! When he received an unexpected diagnosis of cancer with palliative care as the only option, I was with him. he just shrugged and said, "Well, none of us lasts forever!" The fight had gone out of him. Mum had little idea of what was going on and although we took her to see him every day in hospital and she was sleeping in the same room as him when he died, her memories have been skewed and she has moments of white-hot anger when she rails at us for 'keeping her apart' from Dad: leaving her in the hospital corridor while we went to see him and not telling her when he was dying!
The worst thing is that this just needn't have happened if their optician had been more on the ball. Mum's dementia began with her eyesight and because she had AMD, the optician just assumed her problems were the AMD, despite the fact her eyesight under test conditions wasn't all that bad! Likewise, Dad had no idea what the early stages of dementia looked like.

There needs to be proper training and help for those who choose to care for their family members. That's help and training, not flaming 'support'!!!

It amazes and humbles me that there are people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s struggling doing what I find so hard even in my 40s!

Oh yes, thank you, so much support us just talk, talk, talk …

 

[Starting on a journey]

What I would love is for every carer to be given a named person who would supply 6x1 week respite and would also tell the PWD that they had to go and it didn’t cost anything . Carers doing the other 46 weeks would save them so much money in the long run. I guess I want the PWD to be told they have to go to daycare:respite and that it is suitable for them; with transport provided and people to entice them out of the house if needed . Can only dream

 

[jennifer1967]

that the capacity issue is written again

 

[Seaholly]

What I would love is for every carer to be given a named person who would supply 6x1 week respite and would also tell the PWD that they had to go and it didn’t cost anything . Carers doing the other 46 weeks would save them so much money in the long run. I guess I want the PWD to be told they have to go to daycare:respite and that it is suitable for them; with transport provided and people to entice them out of the house if needed . Can only dream

Oh yes! I knew I wasn't the only principal carer who has to prised off like a limpet to take a break! When it is your own parent, spouse, sibling etc., it is so much harder to be objective and not to 'have your buttons pushed'.