Hi everyone,
So we’ve just been told by the ever-loving county council that in order for my family member to have their care budget increased to cover the new minimum wage, we have to provide a document of what care is provided on a daily basis.
(Funny how they didn’t need this kind of scrutiny the last time NMW went up in 2018, isn’t it? The old snip snip of justifying budget cuts!)
Is there some kind of checklist that we can work through out there? Like a list of eligible care needs/tasks?
My family member has a degenerative condition which is highly variable day to day based on a number of factors so while all tasks get done every day, the amount of time they each take can vary quite dramatically.
I thought this would be easy enough to put everything down on paper, but I can’t help feeling like we’ve missed a number of things and I want to be as thorough as possible to avoid any confusion or giving them a way to weasel out of continuing his current level of support. So, I thought it might be worth asking here for help in ensuring all bases are covered for this review.
I feel like there’s more that’s done in a day, but the harder I try to think of them the blanker my mind goes. If anyone could help by suggesting things that you might do in regular life or for a caree that I’ve not mentioned so far, would be a big help! Chances are, they get done but we’ve forgotten them as it’s just become autopilot/routine.
Thanks all!
Yep … that will suffice , Jenne.
Nursing / doctoring / paramedic duties by default ?
As with potential legal advocate ?
Wheelchair ? Miles walked per week just to get from A to B ? Assuming no car ?
( Dodgy wheelchair ? Add mechanic to the list ! )
Enough around already to suggest that is nothing other than a cost cutting exercise.
And , enough ammunition around to fight battles on three different fronts ?
Always present a “worst case” scenario !
I think I’d move some of the daytime ‘variants’ into one of the ‘necessary’ columns - especially the last three under that heading.
and expand on “domestic tasks” - i.e. vacuuming, washing windows, washing kitchen and bathroom floors. You also missed “washing up” after breakfast ! Plus apart from main meals there is coffee/tea/biscuits routine mid morning, mid afternoon and mid evening (my Mum couldn’t do without her coffee and biscuits on a regular basis throughout the day). What about appointments - doctor, dentist, hospital ?
If I think of any more I’ll come back ! but I’m sure others will be along with more suggestions for you to consider.
@Chris - All good points, thank you! As for nursing/doctoring/paramedic duties, very valid elements, but this council are hell bent on pushing those kind of duties off as being “health care” and therefore not something they need to pay for, so I feel like I need to tread lightly with anything in that area.
They tried to say taking tablets fell under “nursing care”, in that case I think 90% of the population need nursing care on a daily basis haha!
All cost cutting, and a way of trying to shirking their duty to cover assessed needs by suddenly caring about specifics.
@Susieq - Thank you. Definitely trying to capture the worst kind of days we see, just to make sure they can’t weasel out of including specifics going forward. Thank you for the tips, and mentioning teas and coffee, same situation. It’s like fuel for a lot of people, isn’t it? haha!
As for doctors/hospital/dentist appointments? Again, was told “that’s nothing to do with us, that’s health care”, which is utterly ridiculous. Family member needs support in relaying/retaining information during meetings of any kind, but apparently that doesn’t matter, NHS need to fund it according to the current social worker.
Thanks again! 
Your welcome , Jenne.
Until our next exchange … almost back to ground zero … what’s health care and … what’s social care ?
Answer depends on who gets to draw that chalk line ???
We can all rely on the forthcoming Green Paper to set it out for the next decade or two … can’t we ???
Only by recombining the ugly twin sisters and fund both through general taxation.
Once that’s achieved … the question then to ask … What chalk line ???
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One more for the road ?
The Kings Fund … another heavyweight one … " What is social care and how does it work " :
What is social care and how does it work?
Replace the word DOES with SHOULD ?
Still trying to find a heavyweight on how social care REALLY works !