The conversation I had with the Care Coordinator in charge of my mam. The conversation went along the lines that the financial power of Attorney is being taken off me and put back into my mam’s full control. The DWP representative was at pains to assure me that this is just a temporary arrangement and can be changed; the Power of Attorney can be returned to me. But I did not want that Power of Attorney in the first place; it was the DWP’s unilateral decision to award me the custody long ago. I said that I see no reason why I’d want the Power of Attorney back. All I want is for her to get well. This is fine; I want no financial accusations levelled at me. I said that I even want to go as far as wanting my mam to remove me from her will.
The go ahead for this decision is based on the Care Coordinator’s assessment that my mam is better now in her capacity to manage her finances; much better than when the initial Power of Attorney was granted to me. To me this is the central bone of contention. She is certainly less capable of managing herself – since for example, she keeps questioning her Bank’s interest rates – even going as far as being in touch with the Financial Ombudsman. The DWP representative corrected my mam on this, explaining that most Banks have the same low interest rates. With this bombshell - I cannot see how the mental health assessment is sound; I think it’s appalling.
Her ability to judge what the correct procedure is or what is acceptable behavior is very scanty. I cited her behavior when she was at respite last year. Her abnormal behavior in her interaction with other clients, such as buying them food, playing them songs from her iPad and giving them gifts, may sound trivial – but they are not her normal ways. Right there and then my mam insisted that that was not her, but it was an impostor, who had taken over her persona whilst she was in the home.
When I immediately cited her explanation as proof of mental illness right there and then, the Care Coordinator butted in and affirmed my mam’s reasoning; that we cannot be sure whether she was indeed not possessed by another persona. This is an appalling display of the Care Coordinator taking the word of a patient as fact without sitting back and acknowledging the irrationality of the patient’s words. Was my mam telling the truth in saying another person had taken over her and was playing her in body? Are we now accepting as fact - demonic possession? She’s Schizophrenic - not split-personality.
The Care Coordinator even went as far as to say that she is not aware of a time when my mam was in respite. She did not know about the arrangement. This is highly unlikely – since she’s the Care Coordinator after all. She could have been off – when the decision was made – but respite should have been noted as part of my mam’s treatment. Is the Care Coordinator lacking info – or is this two departments not communicating? It seems the Care Coordinator is not that clued up.
At this point – I was getting very irritated. The insanity of what my mam was saying was ignored – and instead it became her word against mine. So the assessment of “mentally better than before” – will stand despite the immediate contrary evidence. And I’m the bad man for complaining and getting all worked up.
Is this where the Mental Health system in the UK going? Will this be rolling out to permeate the NHS? Will they eventually adopt the same procedures; put the patient’s rights and opinions above their behaviour as evidence for their mental well-being? Our suffering for the last two years have been totally ignored by the system; it’s like “yeah - get on with it! - we’ll see to your mum - but you - you don’t matter - because feelings trump what you see with your eyes.”
Following is an extract from an employment agency site … for us and possible other readers :
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A care coordinator job is often the single most important role involved in the care of any individual patient.
Supervising interdisciplinary care by bringing together the different specialists whose help the patient may need, the coordinator is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the care delivered.
Educational requirements for the position vary. A nursing degree is often needed but in some cases, a degree in a related field, such as health care administration, will suffice and can take your career in care to the next level.
Care coordinator job responsibilities.
Given the wide remit of the job, a care coordinator’s regular duties can be quite varied. Each piece of work they do begins with a meeting with the patient, kinship carers, and other family members to discuss their needs, the services available to them and the help they want.
A care plan is drawn up on this basis and the coordinator is then responsible for contacting other care departments or agencies to ensure that services are delivered appropriately.
Daily tasks generally include the following:
Developing care plans and rearranging them as necessary when difficulties arise.
Visiting patients, checking on the care they’ve received and documenting it accordingly.
Working with the care team to evaluate interventions and identify where and when further ones will be required.
Reading, attending workshops and liaising with professional bodies to stay abreast of developments in the field.
As in other careers in care, a coordinator needs to understand the importance of listening to patients and respecting their rights as well as adhering to relevant laws and to the standards of care upheld by the employer. Given the team supervision aspect of the job, the coordinator must also be responsible for team safety.
Strange … how most of the above relates to us … and what we actually do for our carees ???
I know it’s not proper Power of Attorney - but the DWP seems to like to use the designation in their letters.
I’m just going with the terms they use. “The Care Coordinator” is the TEES, ESK AND WEAR VALLEYS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST designation. She’s made an assessment of my mam’s mental health - when she is not a Psychiatrist; is this legal?
An appointee is responsible for managing a person’s benefits, and also for paying bills and managing a small and limited amount of savings in case of unforeseen circumstances. Appointeeship may be the best course of action if the person has a low level of financial assets, is in receipt of benefits and doesn’t have any other sources of income.
My closest friend used to work for the DWP, and through the years of problems with my son, she has been incredibly helpful. She told me that wherever possible, DWP wanted FAMILY to act as appointee for someone who either lacked the mental capacity to deal with things themselves, or who due to disability found it difficult.
The LAST thing they wanted was for someone to have a Corporate Appointee, i.e. someone from a company or care home to manage benefits on behalf of a vulnerable person.
It is NOT the role of a care manager/co Ordinator to tell an appointee when they can/cannot be appointee!
My mam just wants to control her money. This in itself is a sign of mental deterioration since I’ve been the appointee all these years, and have passed on the exact amount of her pension and DLA straight into her account. No issues with it. It’s only now that her level of paranoia against me and the banking system - does she feel the need to exert more control. This would not be a problem on its own - her wanting to control her finances directly. But the impulse buying from catalogs, shoes and dresses and her wanting to send Prince Charles money for his charity work - is a cause for concern. But the “all loving” care coordinator who can never say no to my mum - feels differently.
I just feel the DWP and the Coordinator is experimenting to see how well she does manage her own money; as if they don’t believe me. That’s ok. I’ll just have to leave it to pan out. I’ve been advised that it’s the best thing. Mam cannot accuse me of stealing if I don’t have access to her funds.
I just feel this Care Coordinator lark is a joke. The lass is sloppy with her information and time keeping - appalling. Now that my mam asked her to get get me out of the house - I’ve been told by the Care Manager to leave by the start of July - 2 Weeks from last week.
I could be made homeless; all because the Care Coordinator fancies herself as the “all loving” guardian of my mam’s best interest, no questions asked; my mam’s word is law. My mam’s schizophrenia is never addressed as the main issue or that she could be entering Dementia. No attempts at new medication is being looked into; the only medication is Clopixol. And the problem is my relationship with mum.
I can’t really win this; all I’ll do is put myself through hell - and the NHS will still win. I’ll just have to bow to the inevitable; my mam is in their hands. They can do as they please with her. No ones going to come to save us from this injustice.