Hello
Has anyone else had experience of their parent being stuck upstairs and unable to deal with stairs? My father has gone into rapid decline following illness and is too weak to deal with stairs. He is effectively a prisoner in his upstairs bedroom.
I’d like to move his bed downstairs but I have no idea how to get him there. Is there anyone I could get in touch with for assistance?
Thank you.
Hi Sarah,
This raises a whole heap of issues.
Ring Social Services to start with. It is very unsafe for him to be stuck upstairs, especially in case of fire.
Do you think he could manage a stair lift?
It might even need the fire service or ambulance service to help him, but Social Services ought to be able to advise, or arrange and emergency Occupational Therapists appointment.
Do you have a downstairs room that could be private enough to use as a bedroom?
Are you on your own? Might be worth asking a local removal company to help move the furniture. I’ve done this in the past, when I sold some of mum’s wardrobes and the purchaser just needed them taken to his house a mile away. Didn’t cost much either.
Who owns the house?
However, it really all depends on dad’s future health. How old is he? Does he need 24/7 care now?
Is this really an indication that he now needs full time nursing care?
Hi Sarah … welcome to an extremely quiet forum.
( BB … excellent point … FIRE RISK … how can you possibility get round that one ? Having said that , how many low millions
ARE at risk as I type ??? )
To save you swinging in the wind until others arrive , I tried an Internet search.
( I have assumed an ordinary house / maisonette … not a maisonette in a high rise block ? )
No help there … basic assumption that the carer has the ability to guide their caree down through various methods.
( AGE UK would be my choice to contact : https://www.ageuk.org.uk/ )
Apply Health & Safety to any and all would be illegal under that act without a trained person assisting you.
( I can’t believe guidance would include calling out trained paramedics to be a solution … there again , this is 2019 ? )
Plenty of information as to devices for future use … chair stair lifts the most popular.
Short of doing what I did some 20 odd years ago … sell up and move to a bungalow , what would be the permanent solution ?
( Adapt the first floor to become a flat in it’s own right ? )
( No … I will not reveal what I occasionly did but … it worked. )
Others will be along to add their insight into this very practical problem.
Hello Sarah.
It must be a worry for you. Whenever you do, don’t try and do it on your own.
I think getting a removable company to help with the bed etc is a good idea. I’m assuming that dad has a downstairs toilet?
Does dad have anyone come in? That could be a good place to start.
I hope that you get some practical help. X
DAD should pay for all this, by the way, not you.
Do you have Power of Attorney for dad, or are you his DWP “Appointee”.
Is he contributing to your housekeeping costs?
Claiming Attendance Allowance - this is NOT means tested.
Is he mentally OK?
As a last resort if NHS can’t help then a private ambulace firm should have the necessary chair to get him down safely.
.
DON’T try to get him downstairs on you own.
Not even with the help of neighbours.
One slip and all of you are in trouble.
You don’t know how your father would react being
helped downstairs.