Support For Older People Not Coping With "Modern Life"

There are certain key phrases to use to get Social Care to take action. He is a vulnerable adult, not capable of making safe decisions and they have a duty of care for him. Those are the types of words used to get support for people with dementia so might be helpful in your situation.

Otherwise try writing to his GP with your concerns as the GP also has a duty of care to assess his capacity to live independently. Obviously they will not discuss anything with you but should see your tenant, often they make up a reason for an appointment such as a health check so that they can do an assessment.

How is his rent paid, is he in receipt of housing benefit? In which case would they have any involvement in his living conditions, if you were to evict him for his poor basic hygiene then they would have to act. Our tenants have a six monthly inspection which ensures that they are maintaining the property properly or else the tenancy agreement is not renewed. I’m not suggesting you evict him as you are obviously a caring person but it might be possible to raise awareness of his needs to housing.

This should never be allowed to happen. What is wrong with the local authorities in the area ? Are there no social workers , perhaps attached to the local hospital? In this day and age it is disgraceful and quite frightening.

My daughter struggles with issues like this in the course of her work. How ever much she can support people in a crisis situation there are no places available for them to get on going help. It's a cause of great concern for her mental health team.

I have no expertise in this area and so can't help, but just wanted to say that you sound like a very caring person SueSocks. It is very good to know that there are such good and kind landlords around.

This post is an indication of how difficult it is to get help if you or someone you know is suffering with mental health issues.

I suspect that to get any help for this gentleman you will have to evict him, when SS see he is going to be homeless and is vulnerable, they will then do something about it, but while there is anyone with an interest in him - and you are a kind and concerned landlady, they will do nothing.

This is an appalling way to have to go about things, but my experience is that only when everyone else walks away and the vulnerable person is left utterly abandoned, will SS reluctantly get involved.

Poor man, it sounds as though he can’t cope, full stop, and his possible mental health issues may be exacerbating. . Please don’t go down the eviction route, that would distress and agitate him more. Your first stop really should be his GP, if that fails, it shouldn’t, then these may help. www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/adult-pocket-guide.pdf.
www.nhs.uk/mental-health/nhs-voluntary-charity-services/charity-and-voluntary-services/get-help-from-mental-health-helplines/
I do hope you can get this sorted for all your sakes.

His GP is the conduit between him and help they should contact SS to review him and find what help he needs and it should become obvious what he needs
He’s over retirement age so a vulnerable elderly person
I hope you don’t have to evict him poor man he will end up on the streets
When my mum and dad became less able (much older in their 90 s )I contacted the GP he contacted SS and very soon they were offered so much help and an occupational therapist getting them everything from hand rails, toilet chair and settee hiRisers mum who was profoundly deaf was offered a screen telephone
So unless things have dramatically changed in the last few years the GP is your person to contact

Thank you for your replies, very helpful. I hadn't really thought about his GP.

If carers are already visiting, Social Services will be aware of him already, but may not deem him vulnerable enough to need additional support - he may not have been reassessed since he was allocated the carers when he left hospital? I’d find out first if his carers are SS employees or from a care agency, and if they have reported his failure to cope to a social worker. If not, that’s the best route to go down. Press for a reassessment. If he has been reassessed and it’s not thought that he needs additional help, you could try Age UK, who with his agreement can help if his primary problem is loneliness and isolation leading to him not caring for himself, which could be the case. They can also put him in touch with support to pay his bills.
Approaching his GP for help is an extra tier of help if all else fails, but the GP will refer back to Social Services anyway, as they are already involved to some degree, I think going through the carers would be the quickest route initially.