Hello. I’m desperate for advice/ideas. My husband has MS is confined to a wheelchair and needs all personal care. I looked after all his care for nearly 10 years on my own. After the last hospital admission it was agreed it’s too much for me, and for safety he needs two people. He requested mature females or men, and to go to bed after 10pm. We have a brilliant agency with great carers. He has 4 calls a day, mostly an hour duration. SW came Friday to tell us they are changing his agency, call times are awful, the worst is bed time 9pm, he has all his mental faculties, he feels they are treating him like a child. according to my research most carers st the proposed agencyare 18-20 yrs, he really objects to young girls doing personal care/catheter etc. Can we say no to both time and age if carers or can they insist. We’ve been told the new agency is cheaper. My husband is now so low and tearful. Any advice on how we stand gratefully received. Thank you.
In an ideal world an individual should be able to access all they need. However, when it comes down to funding this is another matter.
You can try and stand your ground. Contact CQC who should be able to help you with the best way forward…
Person-centred care
You must have care or treatment that is tailored to you and meets your needs and preferences.
As you can see above preferences. I personally think that is very broad within the care world.
Hi Catherine,
I fully sympathise with your husband who no doubt finds it hard enough to have to have care in the first place.
All I can offer you is my experience of paying for my Mum’s care, which may be no help whatsoever, but could be a way forward.
My Mum would have been completely self funding except we were lucky enough to live in a rare authority which had a ‘cap’ on the amount anyone was expected to pay for their care per week.
When SS determined that the cost of the amount of care Mum needed went beyond that ‘cap’ they topped up the amount. We decided on the direct payment route. This meant that mum had to open a dedicated bank account into which the contribution to care costs was paid. It also meant that we were able to choose which care company we used and used her own money and the contribution to pay for it.
It also meant that I had to keep meticulous records of invoices and payments which were periodically audited by the LA. I paid the Care Company from that dedicated account, transferring money from Mum’s current account to cover her ‘share’ of the costs.
I’m sure it’s considered ‘not on’ to have to top up care fees, especially when it is to a Home, but it depends on whether your husband’s costs are fully met or whether he has to contribute to them anyway.
If it’s affordable, you might consider it worthwhile to have direct payments and chose your own Care Company but you would have to make up the difference between the amount your LA will pay per carer, per hour, and the amount your chosen company will charge. Then double it because there are two carers and also check on the charge for Bank Holidays, Christmas Day etc which could well be double again or time and a half for those days.
KR
Has he had a Continuing Healthcare Assessment? What reason have they given for the change of agency?
We’ve been told the new agency is cheaper.