Care for elderly parent?

Quick summary. Elderly parents living in family home. Mother capable, Father unable to take care of himself, needs to be washed, shaved, dressed on a daily basis, and encouraged to eat. Mother is not physically able to do this. Want to investigate possibility of someone coming in every day for an hour or so to get him sorted. Have no idea where to start. All suggestions/advice very welcome.

If you're talking about private care I can give you a little advice. I used an agency "Private Home Care" in Lucan (I think). They charge a certain amount per hour (large portion of which goes to agency, with smaller portion to the carer). You can interview the carers and choose the one who most suits your needs and the personality of the person to be cared for. They have carers for all hours of the day, even for overnights. There are many such agencies, this is just the one that I have experience of (or of which I have experience!!). My mother initially needed help during the day while I wasn't around (dinners cooked, help with dressing and getting to the bathroom etc). Finally she needed 24 hour care, and she remained at home because we could employ these private carers. This was six years ago. I don't know what the charges are now. It was fairly expensive, although I can't remember exact figures, but well worth it for peace of mind.

Thanks Andrew.Did you have difficulty "selling" the idea to your mother?

Not too much difficulty at all. You see, she had already had a stroke (although she had made a fairly reasonable recovery). She was always quite a reasonable woman I have to say, and she realised that (at the beginning) she just needed the assistance of somebody who would peel the potatoes, help her walk to the loo, etc etc etc. In fact she became very fond of the company. Some carers were better than others (we had many of them over the years). When it came to the stage where my mother needed full time care, she really wasn't in a position to voice any objection, alas. I would advise you to shop around though, as there are plenty such agencies. By the way, I was wrong in my previous post - the larger portion of the fee goes to the carer, and a smaller portion (about a fifth or so) to the agency. Email me privately if you want to talk. It can be a worrying time.

Thanks Andrew - I have sent you a message.
A general question - is private care the only option? I want to explore all options available before I call a family meeting.

Will the public health services do anything to help in such situations? Might be worth calling your local health centre for advice.

Home help is available - arranged through your local health board. I think the person has to be living on his /her own, but if you qualify it's free of charge, or very low charge.

Sorry - just re read your post and realised both parents are at home. i still think they could qualify though if they are both OAPs.

Home Help is available regardless of whether the client is living alone or not - ie an elderly spouse living in the same house. Contact your local Public health Nurse through your local Health Centre or GP for full details.She will get the ball rolling re Home Help, Occupational Therapy, Home Mechanical Aids etc.

Hi! You should also know there is a Carers Allowance (I think it's about Euro 90 a week) which your mother should claim if she is your father's principal carer. This you can put towards additional agency help for the both of them.

If you are in the Dublin area (eastern region) there is a new Home care Subvention grant just recently rolled out, the money granted going towards paying for private carer fees.

Contact local health centre for information, not sure if this is available nationwide.

Thanks guys - lots of useful suggestions there. I'll start doing my research.

Since my last posting my father had a stroke and was hospitalised for a while. He is home now and is doing OK but ad hoc care is def. needed. My parents have been approved for a weekly grant which they can spend on care as they choose. My understanding is that they can use HSE people or choose their own care agency. We feel that it would be better to select our own agency as we will be the employer and able to call the shots. We understand that an agency fee will be payable.
If anyone has suggestions as to what agency care can be used for - and can recommend an agency in Dublin - it would be great help. We are thinking shower and shave twice a week for my dad and maybe some of the heavier housework e.g. hoovering done for my mother.
All suggestions/experiences very much appreciated.

my2leftfeet,

Sorry to hear about your father, from my experience although I haven't used a private agency I think that would be the better route to go. My own mother died recently having had a couple of strokes over teh past few years. Although the HSE did provide carers for a few hours a week invariably they were only there for 30 mins or so of each allocated hour because they "got delayed with Mrs so and so" or "were rushing off to Mrs So and So".

Just be sure that you get onto the health board to make sure you get everything you are netitled to eg. fittings for doors / stairs / special chairs / beds etc. etc and if you need to make modifications to the house eg. downstairs shower / bathroom YOU ARE ENTITLED TO grants.

Best of luck in the circumstances

Roy

If I may just clarify a few things regarding long-term care. I noticed a few incorrect references to payments and services above so before you make enquiries it is worth knowing the correct terminology so you can ask the right questions.

No new Nursing Home Subvention Scheme has been rolled out. The private nursing home subvention scheme currently is place is largely identifical to that in existence since 1993. The law on that scheme is being revised, but it is not currently in place.

What the previous posters are referring to above, are the new Home Care Packages. These are weekly payments made to the families/carers of those who can avoid long-term institional care and just require appropriate care in order to remain living at home.

Home Care Packages are not currently available nationally - they have been rolled out a pilot basis to at least 8 areas. While the HSE have rolled out these Packages to certain areas, they are not available everywhere and you do not have an automatic right to them.

Furthermore, while the HSE is currently working to provide a standardised assessment procedure for those in receipt of HOme Care Packages, it is not currently in place. Home Care Packages consist of the services of nurses, home care attendants, various therapists and caring services - it all depends on the individual need of the person.

The main priority of these Packages are older people at risk of long-term admission - but they are also being aimed at young, chronically sick people too. A total of 2,000 HOme Care Packages are being rolled out nationally in 2006, I believe the average value of an individual package is up to 500 euro per week.

If you and your family are interested in engaging the services of a private carer, please be aware there is no national regulation of those providing private caring services, no national training programme and no duty on carers to have engaged in even basic health and safety training, lifting, etc. Private carers are not obliged to have obtained garda clearance in advance of commencing work, save where they are being employed on contract to the HSE.

You might also be interested to know, that if you engage the services of a private carer - you effectively become their employer and thus, you are obliged to deduct tax and social insurance from their salary. You also have certain other duties to them as their employer.

Carers Allowance by the way is not €90 per week as someone mentioned previously, it amounts to €180 for someone aged under 66 years caring for another, and €200 euro per week for someone over the age of 66 caring for another. Carers Allowance is also a means tested payment.

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to PM me.

Thank you so much for your replies. I'll be back to this.

Just a quick update. Myself and my mother met with a care agency yesterday - like them - and we have appointed them to start week after next. Feeling very positive at the moment and hope it all works out!

If you have appointed a care agency in a private capacity, remember to check out the situation in advance concerning employing a carer. Will you be the employer of the carer or will the agency?

It's important to check out this situation - if it transpires you will be the employer, you will have duties regarding that employee concerning, among other things, tax and social insurance.

Some useful information regarding [broken link removed].

Just important to be aware.

CMCR.

Thanks CMCR. In this instance, the agency are the employer. I studied the advice you posted the other day and was well briefed going in to meet them. I'm printing off the attachment to browse later as I feel you can never have too much info!