Thoughts on sheltered housing?

[try again]

Hi mum has mild to moderate Alzheimer's and currently lives on her own. With two recent falls and not being too good on her pins, we went to look at an extra care sheltered housing scheme.
To buy a flat will use most of her money. The weekly charges are over £100 but as she only gets a little more than that hopefully we can get some assistance even if just attendance allowance
I have asked about dementia and they say they can cope unless they are a danger to themselves . This is wandering as doors are not locked. They seem to have a whole host of care package add ones up to a Wapping 500 per week so I guess that's nursing home standard.

At the moment mum can do everything herself . My thinking is this should keep her safe until ,if, she needs a nursing home.

You guys have a wealth of experience , ant advice or thoughts?

 

[Grannie G]

Hello @try again

With two recent falls and not being too good on her pins, we went to look at an extra care sheltered housing scheme.

I have asked about dementia and they say they can cope unless they are a danger to themselves . This is wandering as doors are not locked.

I can`t see this as a viable solution.

To spend most of your mother`s money on a flat which will only provide a temporary sanctuary does not seem to be in her best interests. It is not known for how long she will be able to live there but she does have a progressive illness and another move may be necessary when she needs more care.

It`s a very difficult time when people with dementia are not really safe in their own homes alone but still too well for residential care.

I wish I could offer a suggestion which will solve the problem .

 

[AliceA]

Is there a fact sheet about Sheltered Housing? I have written more fully about my concerns before.
There are so many pitfalls. Do not have time to write more, but fully agree with Granny G.

 

[Grannie G]

Is there a fact sheet about Sheltered Housing? .

There doesn`t seem to be, probably because it is not a solution for people with dementia.

Search results show it as a complicated procedure which seems to depend on individual complexes. There are lots of different rules and regulations, whether buying or renting and care provision is not always clear.

People with dementia often find change confusing so the fewer changes they experience the easier it is for them.

 

[try again]

My worries are that being on her own she may fall again and hurt herself, I know any housing scheme cannot prevent this but her current house has more options for hurt , a second floor that she goes to though it's practically empty, step down into her kitchen, bathroom no longer suitable to her needs . I am her only visitor and while she says she is not lonely she is always quick to start up conversations when the opportunity arises. Yesterday she was chatting away to a couple of the residents. She currently has no interest in going out of her home to any groups, even those associated with her church.

It's her decision as much as she can make one and I just want her to be safe. She hates the idea of a care home so I can only think other than a move now to sheltered housing she will have to move into a care home sooner if she stays on her own

As far as the financial side goes, if she lives long enough her money will be spent one way or another on her care, so surely better while she can get more benefit out of it?

I don't think just moving to a warden controlled place will provide any benefits to her living standards. I can do as well spending a few hundred quid on a good monitoring system in her existing home

It's awful not knowing what is for the best . All we all want for our loved ones after all.

 

[marionq]

The layout of capital at this stage to buy a property which may be unsuitable in a very short time is not a good idea. This is a progressive illness and you want to be free to move her to a suitable place without the worry f having to sell her property.

Have you tried a "convalescent" two weeks in a nice care home where there would be company and activities? Make enquiries and have a look round. You might find that she takes to it. Sheltered housing has many advantages but not for looking after someone with dementia.

 

[try again]

Thanks for the input so far , lots to consider .
@marionq she owns her home so there will always be a property to sell. The sheltered place needs to be sold back to the company so in fact would be easier .
Also in purely financial terms spending a little more on a sheltered flat will reduce her £50k savings to below £20k so she might be eligible for more help.

I think she would blow a fuse if respite was suggested unless it needed to be done as a result of her health.
There is a lovely Catholic run care home with a residential and dementia unit not far from here. Mass is done every day by resident priests which she would adore. They only have vacancies in the dementia unit at present and it really is not time for that yet.
Realistically, its stay as she, making do and getting care when she needs it or moving now and hoping at this stage she can cope with a change.
I do think I am not able to provide her with enough.

Oh on a brighter note, had my very first contact with social services on Friday afternoon .possibly not the best time, but when I asked about an assessment for mum was fobbed off with a list of contacts like the Alzheimer's association. I did tell the bloke that I had been advised this was a right only to be given the same list of contacts. I thanked him sarcastically then hung up!

 

[AliceA]

The reason I asked, Sylvia, was because having had experience of different types of Sheltered housing and the effect of dementia, families do need to be warned of the unsuitability.
I have seen unrealistic expectations dashed, frail neighbours disturbed.
People are people, fear can cut off empathy.

There are hidden costs too. They are not easy to re-sell and there is a selling fee/charge. Communal accounts are complex.

Must get on, running late! X

 

[Grannie G]

I agree Alice.

One of my friends who had early stage dementia and lived in sheltered housing was either ignored or spoken to really rudely whenever she entered the communal lounge .

It was dreadfully upsetting for her.

 

[Agzy]

My worries are that being on her own she may fall again and hurt herself, I know any housing scheme cannot prevent this but her current house has more options for hurt , a second floor that she goes to though it's practically empty, step down into her kitchen, bathroom no longer suitable to her needs . I am her only visitor and while she says she is not lonely she is always quick to start up conversations when the opportunity arises. Yesterday she was chatting away to a couple of the residents. She currently has no interest in going out of her home to any groups, even those associated with her church.

It's her decision as much as she can make one and I just want her to be safe. She hates the idea of a care home so I can only think other than a move now to sheltered housing she will have to move into a care home sooner if she stays on her own

As far as the financial side goes, if she lives long enough her money will be spent one way or another on her care, so surely better while she can get more benefit out of it?

I don't think just moving to a warden controlled place will provide any benefits to her living standards. I can do as well spending a few hundred quid on a good monitoring system in her existing home

It's awful not knowing what is for the best . All we all want for our loved ones after all.

My OH is the same in that very independent and indeed wants to move into her ‘own’ flat where care and help is available but the real reasons are toilet issues in that she is categorical that neither I nor her sons will ever be allowed to wipe her or wash her and that is final! As we all see it is the independedant but assisted living option but not sure where we might look for such an option so we are all just worrying about the day it is needed.

 

[Sarasa]

We are in a very similar position @try again, so this thread is very useful to me. Mum's flat is on the market and we're hoping to move her to some extra care sheltered accommodation in my brother's town. The fess are £1,000 a month for four visits a day and a warden on site. We've taken mum to see it and she liked it. She wouldn't if she realised it was sheltered housing, but we glossed over that. The practical issues at the moment are selling her flat, difficult in the current climate even though it is competitively priced and that there isn't a flat available at present, though there is one that will be soon.
Like others I have my reservations about the idea. I was hoping that we might be able to rent one of the other flats for a few months to see if it was suitable but someone else put in an offer so that probably isn't an option any more. However my brother and sister-in-law are keen and having kyboshed their plans to have mum move nearer them some years ago I feel I need to go along with this at present.

 

[try again]

@sarissa something this lot mentioned is that if you wished to buy a flat they could arrange a short term tenancy agreement on a flat for sale as long as the current property was on the market.

This home currently has one unit for sale and two for rental. I too wondered if a rental might be an option for a trial period.

Early days yet..

 

[AliceA]

I feel when the future is so uncertain, as it is with Alzheimer's, renting is the safer option. If you go down that route. You do need impartial advice, do not try and decide on your own.
Sometimes we want something as we want it to be and not how it actually is. Our natural emotions get in the way.
You cannot rely on other residents to fill in the gap. You probably need to pay for extra input.
You need to pin the offer down, companies want to fill the property and may give a rosy scenario.
Wandering is a real problem, we had one approaching the motorway because she still had a sense of where London was. It suddenly happened without warning.
Please get advice, this site is good but we do not know your Mum.

 

[canary]

They seem to have a whole host of care package add ones up to a Wapping 500 per week so I guess that's nursing home standard.

No, Im afraid it wont be. Sheltered accommodation comes far, far short of a nursing/care home

 

[try again]

I feel when the future is so uncertain, as it is with Alzheimer's, renting is the safer option. If you go down that route. You do need impartial advice, do not try and decide on your own.
Sometimes we want something as we want it to be and not how it actually is. Our natural emotions get in the way.
You cannot rely on other residents to fill in the gap. You probably need to pay for extra input.
You need to pin the offer down, companies want to fill the property and may give a rosy scenario.
Wandering is a real problem,.

Not expecting other residents to fill gap. They have staff on site 24hours which is more than I can offer. Wandering will be a problem in her own home or there. If she rented for 6 months she would not financially be much different than buying. The only concern being an extra move which would not be good.
As we all know she will decline but we can't predict the speed of decline. I am sure not having anyone to talk to apart from me a couple of times per week is also not doing anything to help prevent decline

Damned if you do and damned if you don"t

 

[try again]

No, Im afraid it wont be. Sheltered accommodation comes far, far short of a nursing/care home

They quote from level one to level 5, obviously a question to ask what those levels mean

 

[jugglingmum]

My mum is in sheltered extra care and I personally think it is a fantastic solution.

Sadly there is massive confusion between sheltered extra care and sheltered housing. I wish different names were used to avoid this confusion.

Some (but not all) sheltered extra care is developed with the needs of dementia users in mind (I know this from my connections with the social housing industry - not my mother's care.

I opted for shared ownership with my mother rather than outright purchase, as the property was in a better location in the building to enable her to access the dining room with her poor mobility.

My mum started on a care package of 5 hours a week, and this has now been upped to 10 hours of care a week, I think the maximum is 20 hours a week.

LIke you mentioned her flat is repurchased by the housing association and so there will be no difficulties selling. Unlike care in your own home, 15 minutes means 15 minutes, and the carers sit and chat to her once she has had her tablets. She has morning and evening tablets, a prompt to go to the restaurant for lunch and a evening meal call where they heat her a microwaved meal. They also apply cream prescribed by the GP at all calls. She is much happier there then she would be in her own home.

The majority of the comments above seem to me to relate to what would be found in sheltered rather than extra care, as I said at the top, they are completely different, and just because the word sheltered is used, it doesn't mean they are comparable.

It will certainly delay my mum's move to a care home, and therefore make her money go further.

I personally don't think moving a PWD is as big a problem as some do, I think it is more important to find the right level of care at the right time.

My mum has got to know the carers well, she has been there 5 years and I suspect the regular routine has helped stabilise her massively.

It was made clear to me that they couldn't deal with wandering, and aggression but they will deal with most issues up to and including end of life.

My mum would have been in a care home by now otherwise and she is much happier and really values having her own flat, and her own space.

 

[jugglingmum]

No, Im afraid it wont be. Sheltered accommodation comes far, far short of a nursing/care home

This isn't sheltered accomodation it is sheltered extra care, the level 5 care can be to a pretty high standard, not nursing home but definitely very personalised.

This home currently has one unit for sale and two for rental. I too wondered if a rental might be an option for a trial period.

..

where my mum lives the rental properties are only available to those whose assets (including house) fall below £55k, I am assuming this is a social housing scheme.

here doesn`t seem to be, probably because it is not a solution for people with dementia.

See my post above, sheltered housing and sheltered extra care are repeatedly confused, they are really very very different things, there was no way 5 years ago my mum would have managed in sheltered housing as you say it is not designed with the needs of PWD in mind.

Sheltered extra care schemes run by social housing providers are often designed with the needs of PWd in mind and is actually considered to be best practice to try and let PWd maintain their independence where the only other option is a care home, and for my mum it has enabled her to stay out of a care home.

See my comments in my post.

 

[try again]

@jugglingmum thanks. It sounds like this is very similar . They have someone called a 'locksmith' assigned there deals with mental health and do have dementia training.
They also state they can be used by couples where one has a care need which is marvellous.

If I could get a result as positive as yours is I would be got footing it with deposit cheque in hand!

Part of the process is a needs assessment and care plan for all residents and they have their own benefits expert to help

 

[Sarasa]

The place your mum is in sounds fantastic @jugglingmum. I wouldn't have any concerns if the place we are trying to get mum into was like that. What does concern me is that though I'm sure the care she would get would be good, there are no communal spaces so she would be relying on the carers and my brother for company unless we could find some day care or similar that she would be prepared to go to.