My 89 yr old mum isn’t in terribly bad health, lives independently, and has no signs of dementia, but she has atrial fibrillation and other heart problems that have recently caused cough syncope during the night and she has just been in hospital for a week while they tried to sort things out.
After she came out of hospital myself and my siblings have taken it in turns to stay the night at her house where we can monitor her sleep and listen for coughing fits using a baby alarm.
I am looking for advice on a system we could use to do the same monitoring but from our own houses over the internet.
Can anyone recommend anything or point me in the direction of the best place to ask advice?
Electronic “minding” devices are becoming very common, often supplied by Social Services.
So start by asking Social Services to do a Needs Assessment for mum. If she has over £23,000 in savings they might charge for what they provide (my son had his free as he is on benefits).
Also ask Social Services to do a Carers Assessment for you, so that they realise how much the family are doing to support mum.
Is mum claiming Attendance Allowance? It’s NOT means tested.
Now if the time to look at what extra support is available for mum, to think about the future and ensure that she has signed a Power of Attorney. Don’t leave this too long, mum is clearly frail and anything could change at a moment’s notice.
Also encourage mum to put all her financial information in one place, if she hasn’t doe so already.
We already have full power of attorney, and her finances are all sorted. She has also had a wearable panic button for the last 5 years, and others are fitted around her home. She has always refused any aid from the state, but is coming round to the idea now and we are applying for attendance allowance and some mobility aids.
What I want specifically though is a remote monitor system so should she have a coughing fit in the night I can hear it. I know these exist so just looking for recommendations.
Hi Donald.
SS department in the LA would also be my first choice … a duty to supply such a device subject to a Needs assessment.
Also worth bouncing off AGE UK … would be a common requirement.
Age UK | The UK's leading charity helping every older person who needs us
Even a pop up online assisstant to help you locate information.
Donald, Social Services have all sorts of information at their fingertips. In Hampshire, where I live, the county have joined with an organisation called Argenti, who, ON REFERRAL FROM A SOCIAL WORKER, can arrange a visit, discuss your concerns, and suggest what gadgets might be suitable.
Remind mum that she and/or dad paid into the NHS and the Welfare State all their working lives, and now is the time for mum to benefit from that “insurance”. She is lucky to have lived such a long life, and is now needing a bit more care as a result. Unlike my lovely apparently fit and strong husband who died suddenly at the age of 58 from a massive heart attack. He never got to enjoy the retirement or pension that he’d been contributing to ever since he started work at 16.
She has always refused any aid from the state…
Yet I’ll bet she’s perfectly happy to see an NHS doctor!!! It’s amazing that so many folk think the NHS is ‘different’ somehow from accepting ‘state charity’…yet we pay for BOTH the NHS and SS etc, and NEITHER is a ‘benefit’…we have PAID FOR THEM ALREADY.
Please emphasise this to your mum. I appreciate what she ‘really’ doesn’t want probably is to acknowledge that she is getting older and more ‘infirm’ and therefore ‘needs’ more help. It’s great to stay independent, but not when it causes the rest of you worry and fafff that is unnecessary.
Try and get her to accept help for YOUR sake, not hers…that might make her feel better about it. She will be a mum ‘helping hre children’ then, which is more self-empowering, rather than a’ helpless old lady’ that she probably doesn’t want to see her self as (who would?)
If nothing else you can get monitoring systems to see if your pet is alright, you fit a camera, and it feeds signals out, you can even see your pet on a mobile phone.
Just type in pet camera dog monitor into the internet, you can get a good model about £40
Has 2 way talking, so you could use it for humans.
LB - love the idea of talking to your pet remotely!
‘Pongo, get off the sofa RIGHT NOW! Do NOT chew my shoes! Do NOT eat rubbish out of the bin! Pongo, do you hear me? Do you???’
As for even bothering to try it on with the cat…nope, not a chance. My cat totally ignores me even if speak to him face to face!
