dissapointed

Really disapointed,my husband mick as been told his ms is very aggressive.and we need a stairlift desperatly,and its hard for him to get in and out of bath,weve waited 6 months forsocial services to come round and someone said dont worry they will get you all the things you need for mick.but no they said he would have to be accesed to have a stairlift and that can take ages,im shocked they can see how bad he is and could fall down the staires,they recomened i buy or rent one but moneys the problem,at the moment.everythink is hard to get even a wheel chair will take a while iv been told, does anyone know if ms sociaty will help us thanku christine x

Hi Christine, so sorry to hear of your husbands situation. I am sorry I can’t advise about the ms society but I think you can apply for a grant from them perhaps it’s worth ringing their helpline. Has your husband got an ms nurse as they might be able to move things forward. Recently my ms nurse referred me to an OT who came to see me within a couple of weeks and sorted me out with handrails which should be fitted within two weeks. Hope this helps and things betted sorted for you soon. Take care Karen x

Try the MS Society - for advice on how to go forward. Also, your GP/MS Nurse if you have one - District Nurse/OT get on to them. Everytime he falls call out for help - make them understand how difficult life is for you both. As for a wheelchair - l would have thought the District Nurse/OT should be straight onto the case. You need to be pro-active - don’t be fobbed off.

Even if it means getting the paramedics out next time he falls. Once taken to A&E - you can ‘honestly’ say that it is detrimental to his health to come home until all these aids are in place.

lf you do need to fund your own stairlift - do go to an independant company - not Stannah/Acorn etc as they just think of a number then double it. My local stairlift company will fit a straight stairlift for under £1000. And that would be a Stannah.

But first get onto the OT - tell them it is URGENT. Even speak to your local councillor - thats what they were voted for - to help you.

Hello Christine. Sorry to hear about your problems. Just a bit of advice. Some years ago, after coming out of hospital (yet again) after a bad relapse, I realised I couldn’t get into the bath (we don’t have a shower). The hospital OT kept bringing gadgets out to show me, but they were only for lowering you into the water once you’d GOT into the bath. I found a device that involves a chair that swings out from the bath, you sit on it, and it swings back over the bath, and then lowers you down. Only trouble was you had to buy the bath as well and it cost thousands. Tried local council for help with funding but they said they wouldn’t do it and to try the MS Society, of which I’m a member. Wrote to MS HQ. They wrote back saying it was the local authority’s responsibility! Tried them again, then tried MS HQ again. Finally had to borrow the money and took over a year repaying the loan. THEN I acquired an MS nurse who told me that the local branch would have paid for it and that MS HQ should have told me that. Any chance of retrospective payment? No! Couldn’t believe I’d paid out all that money when the local MS branch would have given me it. Don’t know if the same rules apply now. Good luck with your funding. x