Sudden loss of bowel control

[sparky023]

My Dad has 2 calls from a carer per day at the moment


Dad got ill very suddenly with pneumonia and was in hospital for 2 weeks. During this time he messed himself without knowing it. The doctors couldn't tell me whether this was due to his infection or the delirium, that developed soon after. When he was discharged I spoke with social services about my fears of this continuing and they told me that they call put more calls in and I stressed then, that I will accept as much help as is needed to ensure my Dad can remain at home. He is in early stages of Vascular/Alzheimers but in late stage of renal failure and we have recently learnt he only has a few months left to live.
A week into him being home, I rang Social Services and stressed that I need more care calls. I work full time, have a young family and cleaning up and changing bedding every day is wearing me down. They asked me to ring the GP and ask for a continence assessment and from there, pads/incontinence pants can be provided. It's now 5 days since that conversation and nothing has changed so far. The carer goes in, gets Dads medications out, makes a drink and leaves. No one has checked upstairs, no one has checked Dad is clean and dry. And in all this time I haven't been able to get through the GP surgery. What is my next step? My Dad is still fiercely independent and may well refuse personal care. Help!

 

[YorkshireLass]

My Dad has 2 calls from a carer per day at the moment


Dad got ill very suddenly with pneumonia and was in hospital for 2 weeks. During this time he messed himself without knowing it. The doctors couldn't tell me whether this was due to his infection or the delirium, that developed soon after. When he was discharged I spoke with social services about my fears of this continuing and they told me that they call put more calls in and I stressed then, that I will accept as much help as is needed to ensure my Dad can remain at home. He is in early stages of Vascular/Alzheimers but in late stage of renal failure and we have recently learnt he only has a few months left to live.
A week into him being home, I rang Social Services and stressed that I need more care calls. I work full time, have a young family and cleaning up and changing bedding every day is wearing me down. They asked me to ring the GP and ask for a continence assessment and from there, pads/incontinence pants can be provided. It's now 5 days since that conversation and nothing has changed so far. The carer goes in, gets Dads medications out, makes a drink and leaves. No one has checked upstairs, no one has checked Dad is clean and dry. And in all this time I haven't been able to get through the GP surgery. What is my next step? My Dad is still fiercely independent and may well refuse personal care. Help!

Hi Sparky, my only advice is continue trying to change your level of support through Social Services but alongside this would it be an idea to contact a private care agency to help initially with checking the bed etc. When I sought support from Social Services for my mum they insisted they would review the situation and increase the amount of visits if necessary. It all sounded like a good idea if you trust them to do that. In my experience from observations of others having Social Services care it's "in and out" as swiftly as possible. Unfortunately the disease moved too quickly for me to trust a level of care in the form of two or three visits a day and my mum sadly had to move into a care home. That's another challenge. Hope you get some appropriate help soon xx

 

[Amy in the US]

I also wonder if you could get hospice care? I don't know if you would ask the GP or some other person/agency, for a referral, but they might be able to provide additional support? Perhaps someone else here can comment on this or direct you.