Well, that’s the best part of Christmas over and mum is now a prisoner of the system! Stuck in an ‘interim care placement’ for the foreseeable future if I don’t get help.
Still acting on an assessment made on my mum some 3 months ago, when she was totally immobile with her right leg in plaster, the social worker still refuses to let her return home unless we have a hospital bed installed in her tiny bedroom! Once upon a time, it was the ‘living room’ but that notion has now been dropped! So, in one last attempt to get mum home, I agreed to the bed in her room, knowing very well (of course) that it would never fit in there.
Why a hospital bed? This is a health & safety issue for NHS carers. They are not allowed to move or turn patients without a hospital bed! Mum’s been in this same position previously (about 4 years ago) but no one insisted on a hospital bed then! OK, I appreciate the health & safety angle BUT, this is about the carers, and NOT mum! Even at her most immobile, she has never found difficulty moving in her bed. I have been her sole carer for the past 5 years or so and had no difficulty whatsoever either helping her to sit up in bed, helping her wash, dress, and everything else. We keep unusual hours anyway so I ask myself, when exactly would these carers think of coming in here? Mum would be fast asleep if they called before 1pm and washed, dressed, and all the rest if they decided to call in the afternoon!
Mum doesn’t want these carers coming in anyway, and neither do I. Instead of making life easier for both of us, they would in fact be making it one hell of a lot worse! We don’t need them and never have needed them. All mum DOES need is an intense course of physio and rehabilitation from her private physios. But, unless the bed is put in, the social worker won’t allow her to come home!
I’ve been in touch with our local Occupational Therapists and spoken with the Head of Dept. We have known each other for years. She does not see why we need the bed if we’ll not be using their carers anyway! The first thing she remarked was, that they’ll NEVER get that bed into mum’s room!!! Yes, tell me about it! Mum’s physio also said the entire idea is nonsense.
However, so far, the social worker has refused to budge! He has agreed to work with our local OT team, surprise, surprise! If only I could get them to do another assessment of mum. She has ALWAYS been assessed in her own home! I have a feeling the OT would be willing to visit her at the care home and, maybe, come up with a plan to get her home without the bed in situ.
Is there a law which says we HAVE to accept the carers social services appoint? What if I wanted to choose Jewish Care? Surely they couldn’t refuse that option, even if we never actually used it. Can anyone answer that? Our local OT has nothing against me caring for mum as she knows I’m experienced and under the supervision of the physiotherapists anyway.
Hospital beds don’t come cheap, and I know they are installed on loan. IF mum was able to regain adequate mobility within a short period of time, what would they do? After all the upheaval and stress I’d suffer ripping mum’s room apart to accommodate the bed, would the whole thing be just dismantled and shipped out again a couple of weeks later? What would I do with mum’s current bed? What? What? What? The entire matter is an absurdity!
And mum just remains a prisoner of the system.
