Hospitals and carers and mobility oh my!

Caring for someone with MS
1

My mum has been living with MS being cared for only by my dad with support from my sibling and I for over 20 years. She has recently been in hospital after experiencing great pain in her side (we think a muscle or joint pull) - they can’t seem to find anything wrong but have decided she now needs to use a hoist and never leave her chair or her house.

Up until going into hospital she was able to use a steady to get up and down with a rise and recline chair. They seem unwilling to even try to get her back to where she was prior to hospital.

She is now accepting help and support - we will be bringing in carers via social work and the OT has suggested a new bed etc. We are happy to finally have some support, but they seem to have decided her life is over and not worth any effort to maintain the little mobility she had prior to hospital.

Any advice on dealing with the hospital / social work / carers is welcome!

2

The “hot potato” in OT circles currently is solo care for MHP (moving & handling people). With more sophisticated devices, an immobile person can be moved safely by a single carer, whether a paid or informal (unpaid, family) carer.

Perhaps ask for an updated “Statutory Assessment”, that takes account of your Mum’s latest status. The other thing to consider is whether or not she qualifies for a DFG (Disabled Facilities Grant). It is means-tested based on household income but sometimes they can be more ambitious in their recommendations if they know the Council isn’t picking up the tab.

3

Thanks I will look into that - just don’t understand why they want to take away her options and not even attempt to get her back to her baseline!