Social services frustrations

ccolley1982

Registered User
Jul 30, 2013
4
0
Sussex
Hi there,

Am hoping for some advice (and perhaps some therapy!). I'm sorry... This might be quite a long post.

After receiving 8 hours of self-funded care a day for 2 years, my grandmother was placed in care following a social services emergency care order. She was placed in care as she was not going to sleep at night, and ended up knocking on her neighbours' doors at 5.30am thinking it was the evening. She had no idea where she was and that she had done this, and would return 10 minutes later despite my parents phoning her and them reassuring her. She was also leaving home and walk up and down the street, and had ransacked her bedroom in the night, ripping curtains off the poles.

She was incredibly aggressive when placed in a care home, and after 2 failed attempts she has ended up in a psychiatric assessment unit where she has settled and is much calmer. The staff have assessed her to have no short term memory whatsoever, and have assessed her care need at 24hrs a day (she tried to make tea with a toaster).

Mum and dad have found her a lovely care home, and she was due to be moved but social services assessed her for discharge and decided she was able to make her own decisions and that she wanted to go home. The official report they prepared states that she claims she has not been consulted about going into a care home (untrue) and that my parents have also always wanted her in a care home to get her money (again, untrue). On the back of the 2 hour assessment in order to prepare this report, the social worker has judged her to be fit to make her own choices, and not a risk to herself. The psych unit have said that if 24 hr care is in place, she could go home. Social services have therefore said she should not be discharged to a care home but to her own home, with 24 hour care she will pay for herself (despite all funds running out in 2 months anyway).

As she has really enjoyed being with other people over the last few weeks, this is clearly not the choice any of her family feel will be of benefit to her, but it doesn't seem like social services are interested in our views at all. All they keep repeating is 'we are acting in her best interest'. Does anyone have any advice, or have a similar situation currently ongoing?

Any help is gratefully received..... Thank you.
 

FifiMo

Registered User
Feb 10, 2010
4,703
0
Wiltshire
What do you mean by funds running out? If she has less than £14500 then LA has to fully fund between this and £23500 then LA contribute partially!

As to the arrangement, I would stand back and let social service manage the situation. I know you would allow any harm come to your mum but social services don't have to know that! They're the ones who made these decisions then let them get on with it and let it be known that you are not going to be the fallback carer when things fall apart!

What I would however do is report to the hospital if the 24 hour care is not put in place!
 

angelface

Registered User
Oct 8, 2011
1,085
0
london
Argg! SS strike again!

As Fifimo says, please stand back. Try telling SS that you do not agree with what they are doing, and you will leave it all to them to arrange.

Under no circumstances arrange the 24 hour care yourselves, SS are banking on you doing that, you see.

So wait to see what happens, while keeping a very careful eye on your mum. if SS mess up, go direct to the manager, or the Council Safeguarding Dept.
 

ccolley1982

Registered User
Jul 30, 2013
4
0
Sussex
Thank you for your advice.

Funding wise, she's under threshold but SS want us to release equity in her house to fund it. Not sure if that's possible as my brother and I own half of the property (in my Dad's will when he died). This means her savings run out in 2 months, and legal advice suggests lenders will be reluctant to release equity without a sale. Which is just more trauma and disruption for mum.

Will def ask them to sort it all. They have stressed very strongly they just think we are dumping her in a home. In reality, it's been a very long 5 years and of course we just want her happy and settled and safe. Her current fixation is that we are after her money, and they have taken that as truth which is devastating.

Glad we're not the only ones struggling like this. It really is soul destroying.

Thanks again!
 

ITBookworm

Registered User
Oct 26, 2011
456
0
Glasgow
SS really don't have a clue do they! :mad:

NO ONE (not even a spouse) can be required to care for another adult. You don't need a reason not to be able to care and SS have no right to insinuate otherwise. If Gran needs 24 hour care then she needs that care either in her own home or in a care home and that is the bottom line.

As for the comment about releasing equity :mad: They are talking nonsense about that too. If you follow the link below it takes you to the government document that SS are required to follow when considering funding for residential care. The rules are not optional!
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208532/CRAG_guidance_web_publishing_2013_-_06-20rc_1_.pdf

I'm afraid it takes a bit of reading but the section that you need is 7.017 - 7.019 where they refer to joint ownership of a property and the fact that this can ONLY be considered if there is any real likelihood of the part property being worth something on the open market. It doesn't say that the LA can require equity release or anything like that at all.

If Gran's funds (excluding the part house) are already below the £14500 level I would refuse to pay for any care at all! It might be that if you quote bits of CRAG back to SS and prove that you know what you are talking about (and that they are breaking the rules) they will back off and think again.

Good luck getting all this sorted and Gran safely settled.
 

lin1

Registered User
Jan 14, 2010
9,350
0
East Kent
Oh Dear, I am so sorry you are being put through this

I have never been able to understand how Social services who are non medical , feel they can over rule medical staffs findings .

I would do two things

1, if you haven't done so already, I would report the problems re SW to your Grans Consultant at the hospital and ask him/her to deal with AS
AS I feel it likely that the Consultant will be far from happy with what this SW wants to do.

2, of the above fails, I would write to the head of AS
Stating clearly , that you will hold him/ personally responsible if your Gran comes to any harm because they took no notice of qualified medical opinion etc etc

Is the house now owned jointly or as Tenants in Common .
if it's Tenants in common you each own a particular share in the house and often well mostly it's impossible to sell part of a house ,(I certainly wouldn't buy a part share of someone elses house) so the value of the house becomes NIL .
Others here no far more about this and hopefully will be along soon

I don't know the regs about jointly owned property but others here do

I hope you get this sorted quickly to your satisfaction

My apologies I put Mum instead of Gran, I have corrected it but may have missed one or two
 
Last edited:

zelana

Registered User
Feb 11, 2013
127
0
N E Lincs
I think your Gran has rather a confused social worker. If he/she has assessed your gran as being capable of making her own decisions then discussions about her care should be with her not you.

Let them sort everything out with your gran.
 

lin1

Registered User
Jan 14, 2010
9,350
0
East Kent
I think your Gran has rather a confused social worker.
Yes definitely most Confused

Certainly doesn't know the rules (Craig)

And I wonder if this is a qualified Social worker , I was horrified when I found out not all of them are
 

referee50

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
24
0
So sorry to hear this, my Dad is in hospital and at the meeting regarding his future announced he would rather be dead than have care. As there was no reasoning with him the Community Psych Nurse (not a Social Worker) re-assessed him. Luckily we had spoken to her beforehand and had asked her to ask all her usual questions, but then to slip in questions regarding his future care needs at the end. He scored OK on his memory test, no sign of depression, BUT, when asked about his care was off again on the suicide/running away plan of action. The upshot was he was deemed as "lacking mental capacity". Try to find out if you can if she has had her mental capacity assessed, ask the Social Worker to confirm. It is a minefield, and I cannot see how being isolated at home would be in her best interest - only the Social Services. We have been VERY lucky where my Dad is that we have had some great support so far but it really is a postcode lottery.
 

ccolley1982

Registered User
Jul 30, 2013
4
0
Sussex
Thank you all - that's so useful.

Hoping things will be resolved, but SS are determined she go home. She is (as of today) in 4 weeks respite care in the care home mum and her brother want her to move to permanently. After that, there's a final decision meeting about where she should stay. I can only hope she settles there and 'decides' to stay (as SS claim she is able to make her own choices). But I fear not.

Thank you ALL again! Mum and I are very grateful for both your sympathy and your wise words!
 

ccolley1982

Registered User
Jul 30, 2013
4
0
Sussex
RE: qualified social worker - who knows! His manager was in on the last meeting and seemed horrified that my mum had been sorting my nan's house in her absence (tidying up, finding things in random places, getting rid of things she'd hoarded). She has 'no right' to do that, apparently...
 

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