Social Services

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
Evening all,

This might be a stupid question but I was just looking for some advice/opinions/experience with regards to social services. My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and lives alone but only a 5 minute walk from me. Today he was rescued from the street by a kind stranger who found him out and about looking confused and cold in his slippers. Up until recently his living situation has worked out fairly well for us but given his recent wandering and the fact I return to work in a few months (currently on maternity leave) I am beginning to look into some alternatives for him/us. Social Services have not been involved with my Dad so far and whatever happens he will be self funding. I'm just wondering if it is worth me contacting them or because he is self funding would I be better of, from a time point of view, doing it myself?
 

deepetshopboy

Registered User
Jul 7, 2008
653
0
Hi
Id definitely contact them even if he is self funded ive did it all myself and i can tell you now i had about 50 phone calls a week to make very stressful and still is sw wont want to do much but any help is better then nothing i was ringing this place that place carers organising everything ive been doing it for 2 years and many ‘ professional people ‘ that i spoke ie careline and carers agency etc dont get back to you most of the time with sw involved they seem to be Faster at getting things done and listened to more seriously unfortunately that seems to be the way it is id definitely make that call
 

deepetshopboy

Registered User
Jul 7, 2008
653
0
Social services still have duty of care ? ? I believe even if your father is self funded they still must make sure hes needs are being met i think ?? although hopefully someone will be around to answer this query as id like to know myself as my dad getting emergency carers right now .Ive did finical forms for assessment for care funding im hoping that even though my dad has savings just under the treshold they will help in some way ive got limited experience tbh as only just got them involved tbh not much help 1 st time i rung about a yr ago duty sw said oh your dads not that bad hes not wetting himself i would just organise carers and daycare yourself (that was over the phone ) no assessment in person i was really fed up and just thought sod it ill do it myself but as the yr progressed he got worse and then called ss 2 nd time they came out the help offred was 2 carers a day and meals on wheels and suggestions on care homes which meals on whelps he wouldn’t eat 2 carers he wouldn’t stay in all day he likes to go out by afternoon time hes used to being out that what he always done she was trying to do one size fits all completely inappropriate to hes needs age etc would be suitable if he was bed bound and had nobody here to make meals 3 rd time after me having to move in as dad started wandering ss was called again by memory clininc they said oh no he cant go into a home your here hes to well anyway as long as he can say and has mental capacity we wont be putting him into a home theres no homes la funded in the area as all full and sent carers in 2xtimes a week rung around careline for gps tracker ( already tried 3 that i bought ) door sensor got one already and camera so bascially sw has left me to it with emergency carers for respite ( i had private carers in but they cancelled ) right on cue before i got the flu and when my dad spent 2 weeks up and about the flat wandering all night as well as trying to get out the door in the middle of the night it’s horrendous it really is i wish you better luck then me x
 

deepetshopboy

Registered User
Jul 7, 2008
653
0
Just to warn you if wandering starts and becomes permanent they will most probably want to for hes own safety put him into a home .I'm here having to live with my dad but if he was alone every night he would be out getting lost in the middle of the night when they get like that they cannot be left alone .
 

anxious annie

Registered User
Jan 2, 2019
808
0
My mum is self funding but we still had an assessment of her needs by the SW and they organised some days at the day centre and mum paid for that and some carers coming in. Mum moved into care before any wandering but I know others have said the danger of PWD wandering and going into the road etc meant a time to move into care or live in carer. Hope you get things sorted.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
It is worth getting SS to do a needs assessment even if you are self-funded because some things cannot be accessed without a referral from SS - some day care for instance. Depending on who you get, they may know of things around that you dont know about.
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
Social services still have duty of care ? ? I believe even if your father is self funded they still must make sure hes needs are being met i think ?? although hopefully someone will be around to answer this query as id like to know myself as my dad getting emergency carers right now .Ive did finical forms for assessment for care funding im hoping that even though my dad has savings just under the treshold they will help in some way ive got limited experience tbh as only just got them involved tbh not much help 1 st time i rung about a yr ago duty sw said oh your dads not that bad hes not wetting himself i would just organise carers and daycare yourself (that was over the phone ) no assessment in person i was really fed up and just thought sod it ill do it myself but as the yr progressed he got worse and then called ss 2 nd time they came out the help offred was 2 carers a day and meals on wheels and suggestions on care homes which meals on whelps he wouldn’t eat 2 carers he wouldn’t stay in all day he likes to go out by afternoon time hes used to being out that what he always done she was trying to do one size fits all completely inappropriate to hes needs age etc would be suitable if he was bed bound and had nobody here to make meals 3 rd time after me having to move in as dad started wandering ss was called again by memory clininc they said oh no he cant go into a home your here hes to well anyway as long as he can say and has mental capacity we wont be putting him into a home theres no homes la funded in the area as all full and sent carers in 2xtimes a week rung around careline for gps tracker ( already tried 3 that i bought ) door sensor got one already and camera so bascially sw has left me to it with emergency carers for respite ( i had private carers in but they cancelled ) right on cue before i got the flu and when my dad spent 2 weeks up and about the flat wandering all night as well as trying to get out the door in the middle of the night it’s horrendous it really is i wish you better luck then me x

Thank you so much for your reply and I'm sorry for what you have been through with your Dad. I really appreciate your response, wish you and your Dad the best.
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
My mum is self funding but we still had an assessment of her needs by the SW and they organised some days at the day centre and mum paid for that and some carers coming in. Mum moved into care before any wandering but I know others have said the danger of PWD wandering and going into the road etc meant a time to move into care or live in carer. Hope you get things sorted.

Thank you for your response, much appreciated
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
It is worth getting SS to do a needs assessment even if you are self-funded because some things cannot be accessed without a referral from SS - some day care for instance. Depending on who you get, they may know of things around that you dont know about.

Thank you for your response, I did hope if I contacted them at the very least they could suggest where I could start looking. I will make the call tomorrow. Thanks again
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
Hi, tough isn't it? Your Dad will be self funding - but do you have Lasting Power of Attorney? If you haven't and he no longer has capacity you'll have to apply for deputysip.
We found SS no help at all. Eventually I found an independent social worker (Google it) who advised us when it was time for residential care and found an excellent care home that could take my aunt straightaway.
Take care - this is a very stressful stage.
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
Hi, tough isn't it? Your Dad will be self funding - but do you have Lasting Power of Attorney? If you haven't and he no longer has capacity you'll have to apply for deputysip.
We found SS no help at all. Eventually I found an independent social worker (Google it) who advised us when it was time for residential care and found an excellent care home that could take my aunt straightaway.
Take care - this is a very stressful stage.

It's really tough...trying to decide what is best for them while honouring what they would wish with a bunch guilt thrown in because despite doing everything you can, it never feels like it is enough. I'm lucky that my Dad is fairly cooperative and where he lives at the moment isn't his lifelong home so he he hasn't got overly strong attachment to it.

POA was one of the first things we sorted and I have both care and finances.

This is my concern, I didn't want to waste time chasing them especially if at the end of it they couldn't or wouldn't do much as he was self funding. I assume it's a bit of a lo
 

Rosettastone57

Registered User
Oct 27, 2016
1,839
0
Evening all,

This might be a stupid question but I was just looking for some advice/opinions/experience with regards to social services. My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and lives alone but only a 5 minute walk from me. Today he was rescued from the street by a kind stranger who found him out and about looking confused and cold in his slippers. Up until recently his living situation has worked out fairly well for us but given his recent wandering and the fact I return to work in a few months (currently on maternity leave) I am beginning to look into some alternatives for him/us. Social Services have not been involved with my Dad so far and whatever happens he will be self funding. I'm just wondering if it is worth me contacting them or because he is self funding would I be better of, from a time point of view, doing it myself?

My mother-in-law had no input from social services at all. She was diagnosed in 2015 ,but as I knew she was self funding and probably wouldn't cooperate with professionals, and I had power of attorney for finances and health, I just organized things myself. She had a personality disorder as well and she had a long history of mental health conditions with no cooperation on her part with health professionals. I contacted social services when it got to the stage of possibly a care home, but as soon as it was obvious she was self funding, they weren't particularly interested.

To be frank, when the person with dementia starts to wander, it is very difficult to manage and this would have been a tipping point for a care home
 

Bay21

Registered User
Jul 31, 2013
43
0
My mother-in-law had no input from social services at all. She was diagnosed in 2015 ,but as I knew she was self funding and probably wouldn't cooperate with professionals, and I had power of attorney for finances and health, I just organized things myself. She had a personality disorder as well and she had a long history of mental health conditions with no cooperation on her part with health professionals. I contacted social services when it got to the stage of possibly a care home, but as soon as it was obvious she was self funding, they weren't particularly interested.

To be frank, when the person with dementia starts to wander, it is very difficult to manage and this would have been a tipping point for a care home

Thank you for your response, I think I'm going to start looking at care homes to prepare myself.
 

Tragicuglyducky

Registered User
Apr 4, 2016
66
0
Hi I think it’s worth a shot with SS, also speak to Age UK. My dad is self funded and we had very helpful advice from them. For me the issue was where to begin. Between SS and Age UK they gave me information about benefits, cares agencies and care brokers, equipment and gadgets etc. They deal with these kinds of needs on a day to day basis, they may also have heard feedback from people who had similar needs to your dad and give you some of other peoples experiences. It gives you a starting point so you can get an idea of what will work for you guys. SS also gave me a list of care agencies that they work with that also take private clients, even set up the care for us because they already had a good idea of the care needs etc. Depends on how much time and energy you have to prefer to do it all yourself
 

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