Advice needed please, in a nut shell my mums care company left my mums stairlift broken for several weeks before I was aware of it and as a result she slept in a reclining chair. The out come of this is she is in hospital with cellulitis. However social services are saying I need to get the stair lift repaired as I have financial LPA apparently it’s all down to me! The care company is looking into having the stair lift fixed (which I have told SS) and I think it’s down to them. I live a long away off. I am happy to pay bills but that is all I signed up to do by having the LPA and there is no one else. The care company have been negligent and the manger won’t put anything in an email as he says he has quotes for the stair lift repair but will only phone. I want an email so I can think about the options…I quite frankly have had enough, my mum is 97 so I am no youngster and just want to get on with my life…I don’t trust social services one bit
That’s really awful the care company did that, you should report them to the CQC.
I do find it interesting how your mum’s SS are unhappy with her sleeping in a recliner chair and want adjustments made, while my elderly aunt’s local authority was told she should continue sleeping in hers full time, to absolve them of the need to continue her overnight support. Interesting how things can vary so much from place to place.
It is NOT your responsibility.
If mum needs a stair lift, then that is essential equipment which they should make sure is in full working order, FREE OF CHARGE!
Lasting Power of Attorney requires you to manage mum’s money diligently, not wastefully. It is time mum moved into nursing care as inevitably, she is nearing the end of her life.
Do you have a copy of the Care Plan? Presumably it said mum was to be helped to bed? Not a chair?
As far as the care company are concerned, email them, even if they won’t email back.
Copy it to the Care Quality Commission and Social Services.
They have been NEGLIGENT in failing to report the stair lift was broken
Failed to ensure appropriate arrangements until it was fixed, and as a direct result of their negligence your mother was left in her chair, not bed, developed a serious health issue requiring hospitalisation for days.
Failed to notify Social Services that a vulnerable aged client could not access her bed.
Failed to notify you.
Suggest that they “consider their position carefully!”
Thanks Bowlingbun, these are the lines I have been thinking along. The care manager is extremely reluctant to use email. I have left a message on his mobile today reiterating the stair lift needs to be fixed and he needs to email me the options he has found even though I have him the contact number and name of the company who installed it and has maintained it .
How is mum now? I’ve had it several times, since my knee replacements.
Is the cellulitis clearing?
Are her legs still swollen?
I have heard from hospital today and my mum is being very violent and is very confused and so won’t let anyone help her. I have been told she will need to be discharged into a care home that can provide 24 hour care for her as her dementia has worsened and her mobility is poor. The lady I spoke to said an EM something home, I don’t know what that is. My mum is self funding but her funds , after I pay her latest care bill are under £23k and she partly owns her own house, my dad left me his half when he died 6 years ago. I of course need to sell it…I was asked if I would find her a care home as she is self funding, I said no social services need to get into this. I don’t know where to start, live hundreds of miles away and run my own business that won’t run its self. I asked for a CHC to be done…I don’t know the way forward but from what I have read social services will try to wriggle out of everything especially if you are a self funded. Her savings will be gone in a matter of months so how does the care home get paid then? What I do know is I won’t be signing anything!
At 97 my poor mum needs to just be allowed to slip away peacefully as her mind must be in such a tormented state 
No, you do NOT need to think of selling the house!
I expect they were talking about an EMI home, that’s Elderly Mentally Infirm.
You can’t sell half a house, no one will buy half a house, it’s great you own half.
(I’m currently arranging for my eldest son to have a share of my house).
Social Services must do a full financial assessment before making any charges, assessed only on mum’s income and savings, not the house.
If mum’s behaviour is difficult, they should be talking about funding from NHS Continuing Healthcare. Google this, adding the word “checklist”. The hospital should arrange this.
Not signing anything is definitely the right thing to do.
I reclaimed £8,000 from the LA after they wrongly applied the rules for mum.
At mum’s great age, it is time for you to Google “Signs of Dying”.
I know it’s horrible to do, I did this with tears rolling down my cheeks, so choose your time carefully. You will find some excellent articles which explain how the body gradually shuts down over a very long period. My mum lived another 2 years, the last in a nursing home.
You also need to consider which funeral director you will use, when the time comes, and who needs to be informed. It is much easier to do this in advance than with a sudden death. I’ve dealt with two of those. Also think about the final service, especially what music. It’s all available online now, you won’t need to provide anything other than the name.
It’s a real roller coaster ride, be kind to yourself.
Have a loose leaf folder, put all the details about everything in there.
Can you take time off to go to the house for a week and think about what needs to be done initially?
Try to mentally take time out to plan a holiday next year, even if you cannot book it.
Lots of us here have been through a similar event, feel free to ask us anything at all.
Thanks Bowlingbun…you are always so helpful, I know you have had some hard experiences to give you this wisdom, Yes EMI home is what they said. My mum won’t let the physio doing anything for her and really has gone down hill, I will google signs of dying and as upsetting as it is it would be the best thing for her now, She doesn’t understand she is in hospital and she certainly won’t understand going to a care home 
I will await the call for Social services and the ensuing battle. Why do they have to make such a distressing time so much more difficult than it need be it’s bad enough us all dealing with Covid on top of life events.
Insist that Social Services email you, not ring. Use any excuse you like, but don’t let them call you.
If they ring they can subsequently deny saying whatever they did, if it’s in writing, they can’t deny it.
Paula, sorry to hear you are going through this. When my husband was nearing end of life( he had dementia and other issues) I googled signs of dying. It really prepared me, and was glad I took Bowlingbuns advice. Tears do flow, but they do anyway don’t they.
Thinking of you
Good idea Bowlingbun and I only have a mobile number and do t always have a signal, which is actually true as I live in a very rural area. Even if not for backup an email is better as I don’t absorb everything said and so need to have something to refer to. Thanks again 
It’s also easier to forward to people that might be able to help. I now routinely copy emails I’ve sent to SSD to various people, just so they can’t deny I’ve sent them.
Just a quick update…my mum is now in a nursing/ care home. It was arranged by Hillingdon CCG totally un be known to me so I don’t know if she has had a CHC assessment and the guy I spoke with didn’t know either but he did mention the nurse that was looking after her. No mention of the fees yet so I will take it one step at a time. I do feel better that I know she is being looked after and I was told this is a permanent placement.
My mum is in a very poor state now has to be hoisted out of bed, soils herself day and night, needs encouragement to eat and drink, sleeps mainly and has gone from being aggressive towards people to completely passive although she has no idea where she is 
So very sad as she was a vibrant cheeky character in her day. I am now dealing with another social worker who I don’t trust one bit as they are really cunning trying to draw information out that they aren’t entitled to know at this stage. Next the CHC battle. . There is no way my mum can manage with just carers as she has primary health needs that should be fully funded. The NHS are good at pulling people though an infection etc but drop the person like a hot potato when they need continuing care. It’s really not right I will have to fight tooth and nail to get her funded at this stressful time. 
What info are SS trying to draw out?
They are trying to draw out financial information before my mum has had her CHC assessment that’s assuming she passes the check list. The home she is in is being very obstructive as they of course want her to be a self funded as they get about 40%more money than the CCG would pay if she got CHC. The deputy manager doesn’t deal with me anymore and passes my emails to the home manager. They want to do the CHC check list this week ( have no time to send me my request records!) I don’t want this done as I now have a specialist company helping me to try to make sure her assessment is fair ( they normally aren’t) but the care home says head office is insisting it is done. I have kinda moved on from the SW to now having problems with the care home. It really should be this hard and this un fair