hi
Can anyone help or advise as we are stuck
my 85 grandfather fell down 5 stairs 6 months ago in his house.He was completely mobile before the fall ,drove walked ,out and about,but was starting to walk slow and loose balance
anyway he fell down the stairs 6 months ago and since theno it’s been horrific
he stayed in hospital for 3 months now
can’t walk
can’t get up
incontinence
his feet legs shaking
needs 24 hour care ,clothing ,showering basically everything
the carer is my mum but she’s disabled herself ,and I live away
we had 6 weeks free NHS careers and now occupational therapy don’t help, so my mum is 24 hour caring and hasn’t slept for 6 months ,we still don’t know what is wrong with him
can anyone advise ,has anyone expiernced this ?scans ,tests and still nothing
they have said it could be parkinsons ,but the fact he can’t do anything himself something must have haopened very bad when he fell but we don’t know nothing
he also does not want to be in a care home
he wants to walk ,run if he could but his legs are just not right and he’s ready to fall over even with the zimmer frame,
what is he entitled to ? or to us as carers as we have no help,the surgery he was at even took over 1 month to transfer the prescriptions so he had no tablets for month when he moved house ,we have had no support or help,no one seems ,somone metioned nhs check list ,do we apply
any advice would be great
Hi Loiuse … welcome to an extremely quiet forum in not the best of circumstances ?
My immediate recommendation ?
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we had 6 weeks free NHS careers and now occupational therapy don’t help, so my mum is 24 hour caring and hasn’t slept for 6 months ,we still don’t know what is wrong with him
An UNSAFE hospital discharge with no medium term care package in place !
There is something out there that fits the bill.
CHC / NHS Continuing Healthcare !
Specialist care to match specialist needs :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/all-about-caring/chc-coughlan-grogan-judgements-nhs-contuing-healthcare-nhs-fnc-hospital-discharges-all-under-this-one-thread-35998
In Particular , this section :
FAST TRACK NHS CONTINUING HEALTHCARE ( NOT JUST FOR END OF LIFE ! )
Can be administered in a residential nursing home OR at home ( POINTON CASE : CARE AT HOME ).
Not easy to understand on a first read but … the answer , perhaps the only answer ?
I am more than surprised that it was not offered during the discharge process !
Your gp … ideal starting point … pressure him / her to start the process.
And … don’t spare the horses … ill health does not recognize festive season shutdowns !
Others will be along to extend their welcomes , and to add their insights.
Hi Louise, i’m fairly new to the forum too, but had a similar situation a few months ago when my 84 year old mum had a nasty fall and was sent home from hospital with inadequate pain relief and lack of care in place. I had to contact the GP and insist on a home visit and also the emergency Duty social worker to report that we needed emergency respite care. None of this was easy to achieve and I ended up writing a letter of complaint to the hospital. The new GP is thankfully getting mum reassessed. I don’t know what is happening in health and social care that older, vulnerable people are being sent home like this. I had to become very assertive and persistent. Try to get an understanding GP and talk face to face, not just telephone contact, although if you don’t live near, then Telephone may be your option. I wrote down all my concerns, so that I could be clear and get my points across. My local Carer’s Centre also gave me info re Carer’s Act and rights to have an Adult Carer’s Support Plan. Ask the services to help and don’t let this unnecessary suffering continue. No one should be left to cope alone with ill health in older age. Best wishes Nancy
Have either applied for attendance allowance. Had a local authority home assessment.
You can apply for carers allowance.
Louise, I’m wondering if he had a stroke. Did anyone investigate this. Something happened that made him fall.
Hi Louise, a similar series of events happened to my 94year-old mother. She tripped over outside and the ambulance paramedics suggested she went to hospital for a check up.
It doesn’t take much time confined to bed for you to lose body muscle and strength. I’d recommend a referral to physiotherapy to try build his strength back up. Please consult with his gp to see if there are medical reasons apart from his bed rest.
It would be wise to try to minimize the possibility of your grandfather suffering from bed sores or pressure ulcers if he is staying in a fixed position in bed. They can be very nasty and painful and hard to heal so best to try to prevent them in the first place. My mother had a hospital bed with a special air mattress and also a lift / reclining chair with pressure reducing cushion, all supplied by the hospital and district nurses. Mum was also repositioned in bed to relieve pressure every few hours.
My mum had the same too, you just need to ask the doctor or Social Services to arrange a “hospital bed and air mattress” and usually in my area it will come within a week. The NHS and SSD in Hampshire have a joint store, so whichever way you order it, the van is the same. I usually moan about our local services but this is a system that works really well. Hampshire also has an “OT Direct” Service, so you can self refer for other things too, but that’s a bit hit and miss.
Very well said, Honey Badger. Mum had her bed downstairs and had a sit to stand hoist and a commode. She had double handed care four times daily and district nurses managed the catheter and bed sores and ordered continence pads.
I came home to manage all this and keep an eagle eye on the carers - quite a performance.
All this over a simple trip and fall with no obvious reason for her immobility, as commented by a consultant when mum developed a blood clot through her immobility. She had been left to decline in bed for six weeks without being got up or even turned in bed. There were several women with dementia in her bay who needed contant attention to keep them from wandering.
Please be proactive and see if you can encourage your grandfather to try to move his legs, ankles, knees around a little bit a couple of times a day to keep moving and help with circulation, nothing at all strenuous.
I hope he gets the proper care soon, with your persistence.