What support is available in Bromley?

MrsBarrett

New member
Jan 17, 2021
8
0
Hi

I'm struggling to understand what is available to support my father who has vascular dementia after a stroke. He is only only 77. His language has been affected and is suffering dysphagia . His visit to the memory clinic was awful. I wasn't sure how the doctor could assess him as my father couldnt answer his questions. All of 15 minutes and given Trasadone for his anxiety and then discharged back to the GP .

There has been no monitoring or community care or visits since his diagnosis in 2019. Is there any elderly social care support where they visit at home and assess his decline? It seems to be a postcode lottery since my friend's mother in London used to have alot of community support to ensure she was monitored and supported.

I am struggling to support my elderly parents and the GP seems inexperienced in geriatric care. Now my father is showing signs of delusion and paranoia and an incident occurred over the weekend with no emergency doctor available. The only suggestion by the memory clinic was to call 999 which would mean hours filling up a space in an already struggling NHS with a risk of him catching COVID-19 . Luckily, he calmed down after a few hours but we really want to avoid this escalating to physical violence and his meds optimised by someone more experienced.

Hoping someone on this forum understands the system on how he can be managed better.

Many thanks

Mrs B
 

Sarasa

Volunteer Host
Apr 13, 2018
7,195
0
Nottinghamshire
Hi @MrsBarrett, my mother lived in Bromley before she went into care and the local police were lovely when she phoned them up on numerous occasions about various things she thought were happening and very understanding of dementia. Although covid has made things more difficult I agree with @Cat27 about phoning 999 if your father is being a danger either to himself or others.
I think it might be a good idea to phone the Dementia Support Line tomorrow to discuss options 0333 150 3456 and dementia.connect@alzheimers.org.uk
 

Izzy

Volunteer Moderator
Aug 31, 2003
73,999
0
72
Dundee
I’m sorry to hear that things are so bad @MrsBarrett.

Although things might not be as normal during the pandemic you might be able to find what is available locally by using this link -


I agree that it would be wise to telephone the police if your father becomes physically aggressive. As well as the Dementia Connect Support Line you might find it useful to contact Admiral Nurses. Details of their service are here =


Please keep sharing here. You will get lots of I understand and support from members on the forum.
 

MrsBarrett

New member
Jan 17, 2021
8
0
Hi - thank you so much for the replies. I'm very glad to have joined and feel I am not the only one in this predicament. Its been a busy few days of getting my father back on the system. He's back to his normal charming self again. Totally forgotten what he was like at the weekend. Is this quite normal or is he pretending as he realised what he was like? The GP cant refer him to the community mental health team until they run some tests. These will take time so hoping its not too long a wait. I've read about Admiral Nurses and will give them a call. The problem we have is that mum cant talk freely to anyone as he follows her everywhere and wont leave her to have a phone call without listening close by. I was hoping i could receive the support so i in turn can support my parents. Is that something they would provide?
 

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