I’d like some advice please on what ‘consumables’ I need to supply for the carers when my newly bedbound husband comes home from hospital. A hospital bed is being delivered today and we are waiting for carers to be put in place.
Obviously I’ll need bed sheets, waterproof duvets, blankets, pillows. I’m going to get a hospital type adjustable table to go over the bed for him.
However, I assume that the carers (two people, four times a day) will need me to supply ‘everything’? Inco pants (the ones they use in hospital are much more efficient than Tena pants), wipes, creams, bed pan, blue gloves etc, etc?
This is a massive change for us. He’s gone from semi-independent living with Parkinson’s Disease at the end of June, able to get around the bungalow using a four-wheel walker, 90% cognitive function, mostly able to dress himself, put his shoes on, feed himself etc, to a frail little old man, who is becoming incontinent, in a hospital bed following hip dislocation, relocation, dislocation, relocation, revision surgery and massive delirium.
The anxiety for me at the moment is massive, and a comprehensive list of things I need to get would take some of the stress off me. Thanks in advance
@Jiffy_Bag , I would get most of the items you want off Ebay as I do that for the people I care for. and as for gloves, I use the website justgloves. Here is a link to them, they are reasonable price and you can buy in bulk. https://www.justgloves.co.uk
Also make sure you got a area where you can keep them as it can claim a lot of space. For the creams, speak to your GP as they can cover that for you . Hope that helps. If you need more help let us know or speak to one of the discharge nurse.
Hiya jiffy welcome to the form .i hope that you are doing ok I will try and go through all the things you have listed I’ll do it in list form to make it easier.last year I came out of hospital after having an accident and broke 6 bones or I was bed bound and couldn’t walk for 10 months in hospital and when I came out in total. Different situation to your husband .ill write what happened to me and the things I also know and hope it helps.
1.the hospital bed the mattress will have a waterproof mattress cover. The hospital bed is single so you will need single sheets ,I don’t know about waterproof duvet is it going to get wet. Just a single duvet and covers Pillows if you haven’t go any. I have also one of those V shaped pillows they are comfy lay it on top of the normal pillows. You can get somethings that you can put on the sheet and it’s waterproof on one side and material on the other there Probably 2ft x2ft and that can go onto of the sheet so that if he has an accident that can be changed everyday and then the whole bed doesn’t have to be changed everyday if not needed.i cannot think of the name of them.i think there called a butterfly .you can also get disposable ones ask the social hospital social work, also ask them for pads. In the community I know they don’t have the pull up ones. I don’t have issues like this I’m just telling you what I know.
The hospital when they ordered the bed. Should also ordered bed pans,( get 2 so you have a spare ).they should have ordered to A table that goes over the bed (which they loan from medi quip ).they should have ordered to. Ask the hospital social worker to order these I’m not sure who orders the items but ask them they should sort these for you.
The creams are they medical creams like barriers cream or something if they are they should be ordered and come with his medicines when he is sent home ,and then ordered by the doctors surgery with his medicines .If you are on about creams just normal everyday cream you can get some with your supermarket shopping ,the same with wipes get a couple of packets with your shopping. I just got those Huggies ones from Morrisons they sell Them in all supermarkets.
I never brought blue gloves the carers had there own gloves supplied by there agency.
With reqards to the pads the hospital should send him home with some when he is in the community they come via district nurses. I think there is a incontience section what see to those and they will order them on a regular basis for him. I would ask in the hospital .while hes in hospital they supply things.when he comes home it is the community that does. The hospital should send him home with some so he has some to be going on with. You could ask them if it has been organised for when he gets home.if not ask them who you contact.
Like I had said they only supply the normal ones that tape at the side not pull ups.in my area people have to buy them sort themselves if they want them , but ask because all local authorities work differently yours might supply them or not find out first.hospital social worker should know this.
Do be stressed you will be ok . I was very stressed when I came out of the hospital wondering how I was going to manage . But once I got into a routine I was ok .
Another thing I don’t know if you have thought about if he cannot walk you will need a washing up bowl so that the carers can use it to wash him with. 2 flannels one for upper body, one for lower body. Obviously you will have towels.
I have answered your question wrote other things I can think off. If there is anything else you want to know jiffy just ask. Have a good day and take care. Could you tell me what part of the country your in ,are you in England as different areas can be different thanks
Also you say bed pans the hospital order and supply them. As time goes by if he’s able to stand and transfere a commode if you want one when he can use one of those. Social workers will order one of those and get one for you they loan them for free ,like the table there loaned for free. And the new bed pans they will be free.
I hope this all helps
Another thing I use packet supermarket branded anti bacterial wipes only £1 for packet 50. Easier to wipe things down for husband even yourself and carers then can be just thrown away .makes life easier.
Yes waterproff chair and bed covers pads that can be thrown away, matress protector. Yellow and black tigger bag. Best place for them is Ebay as the council will only give you so many.
The other tip I can give you @Jiffy_Bag , is think of him as a child who is having wetting issues/ toilet training. I know it sounds silly but it how to get people to understand as they shy away from incontinets. Also I get the Tena pants off ebay but I go for the supper plus as it last longer and you can get in bulk. Also have a large bin to put the yellow/black strip tiger bags to put in , inside the house and mark it up and one for out size. speak to the council about you will need a bio hazard waste pads etc pick up. Has the fire brigade been around and put in free smoke alarms and heat alarms , they can do that for free, also speak to the national grid and your power supplyer and heating company and say you are going to have someone in a bed and if you get cutt off or interuption of power, they can put you on a priority registar to make sure you get sorted out ASAP.
Also a good device is floor mat alarm which you can put on the inside of you front door which will go off day or night and will let you know when carers come in but also if he decide to go wondering off it will let you know but also use herbert protocall, which if he goes missing the poilice can find him ASAP.
@Jiffy_Bag another thing I thought of is when he is discharged from hospital and sent home .they will send him home with a supply of medications for so long. You can then if you want to have a local pharmacy near you deliver his medicines every 28 days instead of you having to pick them up every month you can organise that by ringing them up and doing.
Welcome to the forum.
Has anyone mentioned NHS Continuing Healthcare to you? From what you describe your husband may qualify.
Has anyone done a Needs Assessment for you, and actually asked you if you are able and willing to care for him?!
I don’t think you should be supplying many of the things on your list. They should be arranged by the hospital or Social Services. You need to turn it round to ensure that between them the hospital and Social Services are doing it all.
Thank you all for your replies. There are some important things I hadn’t thought of, so much appreciated. I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment but hope that things won’t be as bad as I am imagining.
Prior to hubby going into hospital, I was able to have a few hours away from home a few times a week but he was up and about and safe at home. I don’t think this is going to be possible in the future, now that he is bed bound (always thinking worse case scenario). When you have a Carer’s Assessment (which I’m in the process of getting) is that something that I can get help with, like ‘babysitting’?
I can relate to how you are feeling as I’m about to go through the same process. Just clearing out the front room of furniture, apparently my son not doing it quick enough after having a lecture from 2 members of staff when I visited husband in hospital on Sunday!
Yes, they are supposed to be assessing the “support you need for your caring role” and now he’s bed bound you need to have free time more than ever. Does he have an emergency call pendant arranged? My mum had one for years, it was vital, when she fell she could call them.
@Jiffy_Bag about the carers assessment put that into Google. The first two webpages that come up are nhs carers assessment .the second is my council so will probably be your council. And carers assessment. Then you will be able to read all about it and that will be easier for you as it will give you all the information. It will be overwhelming a first just take it one day at a time , and on the days take it morning ,then afternoon ,the evening. Break it down then you won’t feel overwhelmed.
@bowlingbun they do, they do it a lot in hospital. Soon as they decide you are ready for discharge out you go. and no one tells you till the day before.if they tell you the ambulance men told me that sometimes they go to take people home and there sat in bed eating there breakfast and not been told and they have to help them pack there things up.
they were sending me home they told me on the Tuesday night I was going home on the Wednesday and the bed was supposed to be delivered Wednesday morning and set up and for some reason couldn’t be delivered till Thursday so I had to be discharged on Thursday oh the drama you would have thought the whole world had come to a stand still all the moaning. If it wasn’t for the discharge co ordinator becoming my friend god knows how I would have gone on cos he was the person who ordered everything for me , sorted everything for me because I wasn’t well enough. Social workers absolutely useless and because I was on my own he wanted to make sure I was ok he was lovely I’d never coped in that hospital if it wasn’t for him.All hospital care about is the beds. That’s why I say if there not doing what you need you go to PALS because once your out your in the community it’s harder.Once they say you’re medically fit for discharge you cannot fight them yourself ,you need PALS to do if no one else is listening. The nurses on my ward could not believe they were sending me home how I was they said people aren’t admitted as bad as your going home. But the consultant had decided I was going home well I presume it was him. He ignored me for 3.5 months I was in hospital out of 4. But he’s been reported to the trust. Then I’ll report it to GMC. since fundings have been cut it’s not like it used to be .
@Jiffy_Bag if you want a waterproof mattress cover most supermarkets sell them you can get one with your shopping and the sell pillow protectors and washing up bowl for washing Morrisons does .Where ever you go shopping you could write two lists one for your shopping and one for the other things get them all from the supermarket you use or if you shop online with your online shop. If that is easier. Or anywhere else you choose.
Teddybear, I have had lots of awful experiences with regard to hospitals.
I always choose my words very carefully to avoid offending anyone.
Until carers know their rights, and the rights of their carees, nothing will change.