Ed Balls Crisis in Care.

I should add that I was very happy with the care my parents received. The place was a bit shabby in parts but the carers were not all young and they were local residents who had been there for years.
Each person was treated as an individual right up to their death.

I was so fed up when the government's announcements about tackling the care system had nothing whatsoever about standards and quality of care; and nothing about dealing with the iniquitous system of continuing health care funding which is granted to virtually nobody and has to be fought for.

How these carers still manage to provide care with dignity for their residents is beyond imagining.

When I was a SW in the field all care homes were run by the LA - they were good homes, with proper staff training and support and proper a career system, where they could climb the ladder and get pay increments. And then what happened? Conservative dogma dictated that they should move to private ownership. I think the government were working under the delusion that this would be a cheaper option - it is not of course cheaper for anyone. Immediately we were faced with poor standards, cost-cutting and a miserable monitoring system that was never fit for purpose.

The government's new plans address none of this.

In order to get proper high quality care for my OH I had eventually to sell my home because what was laughingly called a "top-up" from me amounted to about £60,000 a year.

And things are no better under the care-at-home system. I cannot begin to describe to you that problems I had getting quality carers with the right skills and at the right times. And live-in care, which I resorted to in the end, was a joke - untrained carers whom I had to monitor every minute of the day - and no choice - when one carer left for their break period there was no choice about who you got next.

It is a farce and a disgrace, in spite of the fact that individual carers really do care and they are working their tripe out.

dragonfly46

I often think Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper should run the country!

Crazy thing is I’m sure Ed could easily get an overwhelming vote to become PM purely because he was on Strictly. Not because he’s a socially aware intelligent person. I usually avoid programmes about dementia but I did watch this. It was very hard hitting. His programme about America was good, to. I really rate Yvette. Currently doing stirling work on the committees she’s on.

Absolutely agree Luckygirl when LAs were no longer responsible for care homes standards immediately dropped. Staff as well as residents were valued by LA staff. Training was given and a career structure in place.
Homes were carefully regulated by senior management. Let's not forget we are not just talking here about homes for older people but those with physical, and learning disabilities as well.
There is very little regulation now, the CQC is a joke as others have said. I repeat what I have said before on here, we leave the care of the most vulnerable in our society to the least skilled and paid.

dragonfly46

I should add that I was very happy with the care my parents received. The place was a bit shabby in parts but the carers were not all young and they were local residents who had been there for years.
Each person was treated as an individual right up to their death.

Except for the shabby you could be describing my late mother in laws care home. Wonderful home.
The worst one we viewed was a BUPA home. So bad I reported them. That was after I told them exactly what I thought of their establishment.

I thought it was an excellent programme, clearly showing the problems and shortcomings of the care system to those lucky enough not to have had any experience of it. Ed Balls is never afraid to get stuck in and put himself in situations where most of our beloved politicians would run a mile. However, he admitted he hadn’t tackled the issue when he was in government and still had no real answers. Like the NHS it’s too big a problem to be properly addressed by the party in power, whichever it may be, without consensus from all sides and none of them have the will to do it.

One of the best homes I have heard of is run by a charitable trust called Abbeyfield. I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to develop more charity run homes. They have a very different atmosphere and support both staff and customers much better. Perhaps the government could offer support through tax breaks and other modifications.

Slightly off topic so please forgive me:

With so many people needing homes I do think there’s a case for some kind of home-share scheme where a live in lodger is paid to provide ongoing care for the owner. Free training, accommodation, and a good salary of £40k a year would still be far cheaper than Nursing Home care and allow an elderly or disabled person to continue to live at home.

I know it would need careful monitoring and supervision, but a not-for-profit or social enterprise could easily create such a scheme. If I were twenty years younger I’d have a crack at it myself. In the last year I’ve worked with several people who would be very suitable to enlist as carers; kind, warm, empathetic - and in need of a home and paid work. In fact one of them had a job as a care assistant in a local Nursing Home and was living in her car.

We have lots of Abbeyfields round here too. DH used to visit people in care homes and considered the best were council (or ex) run ones and Abbey fields.

On the point about people living with dementia classed as not having an illness - this generally true but someone I know was sectioned twice due to her Alzheimer's and is completely paid for.

I agree Germanshepherdsmum. We watched the programme and it confirmed our already held opinions. Very good programme

Hugely depressing for those of us with a loved one who needs increasing levels of care which at present we can’t find. And as for continuing care …… the main aim seems to be not to pay it, as if neurological illness was somehow the patient’s own fault. As I struggle I can see no good outcome for my DH who deserves so much better than he is getting. In my bleaker moments I think we would both be better off succumbing to COVID!

Oh GrannySomerset that is so sad ! I hope and pray that you get some help soon xxx

There are a few home share type schemes, and they are worth exploring.
Taking a vulnerable person into your home, or allowing an able person a subsidised room in your home in return for help, so you can remain at home.
I'm surprised they're not more often made use of.

As I recall, Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper both had the chance to run the country, and they didn't make a very good job of it.

GrannySomerset - my heart is with you. I know how this feels.

It was an excellent programme; Ed Balls was amazing. It is such a difficult position to go into. His insight into the structures within care is something I have commented on. It needs to be possible to go from Care to NHS and back again on the same scale.

In the next episode, he is working with home carers.

I do like Ed. He's one of the few "personalities" I would like to meet. I wonder how many of our current crop of politicians would be seen washing an old lady's legs or mopping up pee.

The home my mother in law was in was mainly staffed by Nepalese girls. I found them lovely but she called them smarmy. But then her attitude was very much "I'm not racist but"

Dorsetcupcake61

Calistermon I look forward to seeing your comments. There have been frequent articles about the crisis in care,not to mention the large amount of deaths due to Covid. It just feels as though people glance up momentarily comment how dreadful it is and then carry on with their lives. Society feels very callous!

We watched it but I found it very distressing.

The staff were amazing and the service they provide is undervalued by the government and so often taken for granted, as they are only earning just over the minimum wage in many cases.

We do know something of the difficulties faced by staff and the distress of having a loved one in a care home too although it is a good one.

There were spare beds in one of the care homes featured which need to be filled otherwise they could go out of business. Whether that is true around the country I don't know.
There are many older people 'bed-blocking' in hospital, not needing intensive medical treatment but not well enough to go home until they have had a period of convalescence.
A relative of mine was supposed to go to a care home for three weeks after an operation in hospital to convalescence, continuing care paid for by the NHS but she then got a bill for thousands of pounds when she returned home.

There needs to be some joined-up thinking and co-ordination here where so-called 'bed-blockers' could convalescence for a few weeks paid for by the NHS as a care home bed generally costs less per week than a bed in hospital.

I think people stopped letting their elderly relatives go into a home - even when it should have been the best outcome for them - when it became more and more apparent that the hospitals had sent untested and even positive patients back into them or used the home to unblock those beds with untested and/or known positive patients.

I really couldn't blame anyone for making that choice.

PippaZ

I think people stopped letting their elderly relatives go into a home - even when it should have been the best outcome for them - when it became more and more apparent that the hospitals had sent untested and even positive patients back into them or used the home to unblock those beds with untested and/or known positive patients.

I really couldn't blame anyone for making that choice.

I had a chat with my son telling him after all whats gone on over the past 20 months in care homes he is not to put me in one and if need be I will barricade myself in my home!

I think one of the saddest aspects of the whole situation is how people have developed an even bigger dread of care.
I was able to look after my father in my own home, he had vascular dementia but remained calm and on the whole the situation was manageable. He had some respite care before he moved in with me but it was local and you could visit any time.
Covid has changed all that and I cannot imagine the impact of not being able to see your relative on both the relative and resident.
I will be honest in that in my experience most residents ,especially those with dementia struggle to settle. That said sometimes dementia develops in a way that makes care at home impossible. My youngest daughter has vowed never to put me in a care home. Although it's not something I would choose I am adamant that if my needs were such it put impossible pressure on my family that is what must be done.
Next week the programme covers care in peoples homes. For me these carers probably have the hardest job of all. They are a genuine lifeline but stretched to breaking point.
When my father was diagnosed in 2010 he and my mother were offered a care package. They were unwilling to take it but I insisted. Between then and 2016 it was terrifying to see how that package changed. Nevertheless by 2014 we eventually had an excellent and complex package in place.
This continued when my dad moved in with me.,although mainly consisted of support to get him up and dressed.
In September 2015 he had a funny turn and was admitted to hospital with the start of an infection. He nearly died twice. He pulled through but I was at the hospital 8 hours a day to ensure hydrated,fed and kept oxygen mask on. It was a small side ward of 8 men. All had had a fall etc,but before that had been living independently. My father was the only one to return home ,there were no community packages,the rest went into residential care.
My fathers needs were now physically more complex and he needed a hoist. I'm from a care background so it was familiar to me. In the end we could only get a care package if I was the second carer due to my experience.
I was up at around 6am to get everything ready for first care call when we washed dressed and hoisted dad from bed to chair.
There was another call after lunch to hoist him on to commode then bed for change of position. This was done in reverse at tea time. The final call was at 9pm to Houston from chair ,get into pyjamas and into bed.
Even with me as second carer this was costing over £1000 month.This was 2015 and I know it's pretty much impossible in my area to get any sort of care package at the moment.

Hoist not Houston ?

I admire you Dorsetcupcake but in your Dad’s position I couldn’t face the indignity. I wonder if other posters feel they just couldn’t submit themselves to it?

What is the alternative Germanshepherdmum I don't relish the idea of having care either in my own home or in a residential home, even less do I want the burden of care to fall on my children.