When to insist on Care Assessment

[Agzy]

Hi all, my partner, after 18 months of refusing Memory Test a period of hell for me she changed so much, agreed and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The Phsyciatrist prescribed Deneprizle and the change for the better was amazing and, 2 years after diagnosis, the decline has been minimal. However, at a Carers meeting I was told of my legal right to a Carers assessment and so I requested one online to get a message instructing to phone and arrange an assessment urgently. This I did only to be told it’s too soon and not needed. I have contacted them twice over the 2 years that have past but still they say no. At what point do I become insistent, When I can no longer cope ( I’m 76 and fairly active) or when she reaches later stages whatever that means? Thank you.

 

[Beate]

Have you told them that according to the Care Act from 2014 you are legally entitled to one, and it's not about how minimal your partner's decline might be but how it affects you? You might be close to a carers breakdown for all they know. This assessment is about you, but it often goes hand in hand with a needs assessment for the caree. Have you thought about what you want the outcome of the assessment to be? Do you need support in the fom of day care or respite weeks? What would help you in your role as carer? If you can't think of anything or feel that you cope quite well at the moment, it might indeed be too soon, but if you feel that you do need more support, contact them again and say that a) they have a duty of care for a vulnerable adult at risk and b) a carers assessment is your legal right according to the above mentioned Care Act, and they can't refuse to carry one out.

Best of luck.

 

[Agzy]

Have you told them that according to the Care Act from 2014 you are legally entitled to one, and it's not about how minimal your partner's decline might be but how it affects you? You might be close to a carers breakdown for all they know. This assessment is about you, but it often goes hand in hand with a needs assessment for the caree. Have you thought about what you want the outcome of the assessment to be? Do you need support in the fom of day care or respite weeks? What would help you in your role as carer? If you can't think of anything or feel that you cope quite well at the moment, it might indeed be too soon, but if you feel that you do need more support, contact them again and say that a) they have a duty of care for a vulnerable adult at risk and b) a carers assessment is your legal right according to the above mentioned Care Act, and they can't refuse to carry one out.

Best of luck.

Thank you, great questions to consider and, to be honest I feel I am coping in the main with just guilt when I do my own thing and loneliness at lack of conversations and constant TV repeats and no help for them obviously. Thanks again.

 

[Juliasdementiablog]

Dear Agzy
Beate has answered your question very well already, but I just wanted to add... Even if you don't have a clear idea of what outcome you want it is a good idea to make sure you get a carer's assessment. The assessor can help point you to some resources that might be useful to you, let you know how you can get breaks, and what other help is available. Caring for someone with dementia can be extremely exhausting and little by little carers tend to overlook their own needs. Even the emotional turmoil takes it toll. Great to have a conversation about you as the carer at this stage so you can avoid crisis point.
Best, Julia