The Problems Faced When Applying For Continuing Health Care
The more I read the less I understand the complex issues involving Continuing Health Care. The more I study, the more questions I ask, the more confused I become. I’ve watched videos of the lady who successfully won her battle for full National Health Funding and am so pleased she persevered with her long battle and eventually won her case. Why are so many people having such a bad time when they are least able to deal with it?
I look at my own elderly mother with such complex health needs. She can no longer walk and has to be hoisted everywhere. She cannot feed herself and even has tremendous difficulty drinking from a beaker. I was advised by a friend to apply for an assessment for continuing care. This was done in hospital without me being present and of course, as expected, she was turned down for a full assessment. To be honest I cannot even believe we were talking about the same person so have asked for a re-assessment now she is in a Nursing Home, but really do not hold out much hope of success. Everything seems loaded against it. Although the criteria is supposed to be the same throughout the whole Country now, it appears to me that everyone interprets the rules and regulations differently unless of course the case is fast tracked because of a terminal illness and even then, I believe, this is not always without complications.
When my mother was in hospital, although we all wanted her home, I was told by Nurses, Physio, Doctors and Consultants that there was no likelihood of her ever returning to her home as her needs would be difficult to manage. This would have been even more costly because she would need double-handed care in view of hoisting. There was no question of a residential placement and we were told that only nursing care would be appropriate for her needs. There seemed no way out and therefore pressure was put on us to find a Nursing Home. We were told this had to be done as a matter of urgency as she was now bed blocking!!! This was not an easy task and although self funding, we did not have much choice in finding a vacancy. In the end accepted a Nursing Home much further away than we wanted.
It seems that one minute we are told that continual nursing is a necessity and then when we ask for a Continuing Health assessment everything is stacked firmly against us. The rules on intensity, predictability etc always seem to be interpreted differently.
I know we have severe NHS budget cuts at present but why should these people have to suffer when at 90 years of age they have contributed so much throughout their lives to the NHS and the Country?…
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