yourcarehome.co.uk blog

Isolation Week 20th - 26th June 2011

This week, a team of volunteers are taking part in an experiment run by Friends of the Elderly, to see how people cope with isolation.  For one week, they will be living alone, cut off from the world around them - no conversations, no phones, no internet or interaction with anybody else - with just a TV for company.  

Currently, over one million older people in the UK live isolated and lonely lives. A million more feel trapped in their own homes and one in five older people see other people less than once a week.

To make the volunteers' experiences more realistic, there are socks to fill with dried peas, beans and popcorn kernels which will mimic the painful sensation of walking on arthritic feet.

Distorting, fuzzy glasses give an impression of what it is like to live with impaired vision like cataracts or glaucoma.

And diving gloves will make it hard to pick things up or to manipulate simple items like a knife and fork as though you had arthritis.

"All the equipment is designed to reproduce the physical challenges of ageing as well as the mental toll that living an isolated life can bring." say Friends of the Elderly

 

Follow the experiences of the volunteers during Isolation Week 

Mum's in a Southern Cross home - Should we worry?

The future of the care home operator Southern Cross is likely to be decided this week.  Landlords of the care homes are meeting today to decide the direction which they want to go - they will then attend a government-chaired meeting on Wednesday with the bosses of Southern Cross to negotiate a final agreement.

There will be one of two likely outcomes - either the landlords (who include private companies and other care home groups) will take control of the whole company and will continue to run the care homes, but under a new name and with new management, or they will reclaim 250 or so homes which they own, and will incorporate them back into their own companies (or tender them out to other care home groups), and leave the remaining 500 homes to be run by Southern Cross.

Either way, there have been assurances issued by the head of Southern Cross who has said that "residents should not fear widespread programme of home closures" .

It was also reported in April that councils were drawing up emergency plans to give advice to local authorities on how to move residents and how to find alternative care homes in the event of sudden closures.

If you have a relative in a care home currently run by Southern Cross, and you are worried about the home closing, what are your rights?

Firstly, the local authority is obliged to find another place for residents who are forced to move, and whose place is publicly funded.  The BBC has reported that "it is understood that there are enough places in total to cover the mass movement required if a company the size of Southern Cross was forced to fold".

The local authority must find somewhere that provides a service that matches people's care needs. Each local authority sets an amount which they would normally pay which relates to the level of need they have. If other care homes charge more, and the resident chooses to live there, then relatives can top up the cost.

Alternatively, families can challenge the maximum cost rate set by the council if there are no homes in the area that are cheap enough and provide the care required.

If people are self-funding their care home place, then they are still entitled to the needs assessment from the local authority. This will help them judge which care home they can move into. They are entitled to information and support to find an alternative.

If they have no relatives to help, and are too unwell to make the decision themselves, then the local authority is obliged to help them.

(information from The BBC)

Age UK has also made a statement for all those concerned about relatives in Southern Cross care homes.. view the Age UK statement here.

 

A new look to Case Senior!

 

Yourcarehome's sister site, casesenior.co.uk has been relaunched!  The site is now even easier to use and has all the information and guidance you need when considering the legal and financial aspects of moving to a care home, including making a will, choosing a power of attorney and importantly, ensuring that you have enough funds to pay for the care that you need for the rest of your life.

Visit Casesenior and speak to an advisor who is qualified in the provision of financial and legal services for the over 60's.