I hope everyone is keeping safe and well and coping in what is a very difficult time.
My own challenges that I face stem from an on-going problems with current care company, the worry of risk to my mother who has Parkinson’s through carers visiting, and my own personal situation and caring duties which have intensified massively since the lockdown, and I don’t know which way to turn anymore.
My mother changed care company in December 2019 as the previous one could not continue, and the only one that social services could find would do min 5 hours a day (1 hour per visit) and my mother has to pay £300 per month to top up. I also would spend a lot of time visiting her while I pursued self employment having recently had a loan from transmitstartups.
My mothers care company are way below par in terms of quality of service, esp compared to previous company. The 2 evening visits, the guy comes and gives medication, watches the news with us and has a chat and leaves after half an hour. Never asks her if she needs anything else, always needs prompting. None of them wear protective gear, because of a lack of it, and that’s a huge concern.
The community alarm people also called me to tell me they couldn’t visit as their team had been exposed to covid19. For the past two weeks I’ve had to move in permanently with my mother, to save multiple trips back and forth each week and to also minimise the risk of her being hospitalised, as she had been in and out a few times in past few months because of falls. She has also been forgetting the lockdown rules and the other day i had to call the police as she went missing and was found in Tesco, it’s like I need to keep a constant eye on her. I still get housing benefit for my own place as my business had not yet generated an income so that’s good, although I feel for a while now I’ve been dumped with the responsibilities the state should be taking care of, and don’t know whether we should still be allowing the carers to come in. I’m not sure I would forgive myself if she got infected and I hadn’t taken better precautions.
My mum received a letter the other day from social care parntership scotland saying she has been identified as someone who may be able to employ a family member through the Self Directed Support Scotland Act 2013, because of the 3 week restrictions, and because ‘employment of a family member may be the only viable option for you right now’. I don’t know exactly what that means, has anyone had experience of this before?
Any advice on anything I’ve touched on would be much appreciated. I really don’t know what to do, whether I’m doing all I can to protect my mum, and what help is available to me financially or otherwise.
I’ve tried calling Age Concern but can never get through, going to try again today. But if anyone has any advice at all it would be much appreciated.
Wishing you all well.
George