I’ve just found this website and appeal to you good people for some advice.
I’m not a carer as such, but I along with my siblings look out for my elderly mother who lives on her own, who is immobile and needs a hoist to use the loo and move to and from bed. She has several care visits a day from carers who the council found for us.
My mum has had various agencies, all of which are quite frankly inadequate, all happy to take the money but send untrained carers, sometimes not turning up at all but mostly very late.
A previous agency missed several visits, or sent 1 instead of 2 carers, and the general quality of care was poor. Untrained people tried to use the hoist and some carers were good but most pretty inadequate, some with a bad attitude. All agencies seem to have borderline abusive staff who talk down to my mum or say strange things that upset her. I was once verbally abused by one of the co-ordinators on the phone when I raised an issue. Every time there was an issue, such as late or missing care visits, we emailed them and copied in the council for an audit trail & never got any reply in writing to any of our queries, even when sending follow up emails. As we pay via the council, they just seem to charge the council what they were *supposed* to provide, who then just pass on that charge, likely unchecked, to us.
We then had new agency who were just as bad. Carers turned up an hour late regularly, one turning up at different times to the other. My mum got trapped in a hoist on one visit. They lost they key to her keysafe box. They didn’t seem adequately trained, or had a bad attitude & my mum is very unhappy. They have since withdrawn their services with no notice some time back when my mum was in hospital (are they actually allowed to do this? Seems like the council are powerless to do anything or interested to sanction them for such behaviour).
I’ve raised all these issues with Council Social services. They told me that the last care agency was fed up of us sending emails all the time and complaining, the result being withdrawl of the care package without notice. I said well, if they provided the care we paid for, we wouldn’t have to! And we have a right to complain for services we are paying for. They also said if we’re “always making trouble” then it’ll be difficult for us to find care agencies. I find this whole attitude unbelievable, and the system is rotten. Agencies take your money with apparently absolutely no accountability, and the council let them get away with it. When it gets tricky they simply withdraw care and cream off profit from some easier to deal with clients.
My mums condition is deteriorating (she could walk before) and we’ve also had many issues with NHS care, such as early discharges when not in a fit condition. Rehab wasn’t adequate and the NHS seems content for my mum to get worse as long as they don’t have to deal or with or pay for it.
If anyone has any advice to get a refund of the missing visits (council say they are looking into this, but despite no evidence to prove they did, as they have no logging system, the agency will probably claim they did provide the care on those occasions we know they didn’t – that’s assuming that the council actually do anything at all - recently they seem to have forgotten it all) and get better care for my mum, and how to hold the NHS, council & care agencies accountable, I’d really appreciate it. I understand that’s a big ask! I’m not sure if withholding some of the payment for what were missing visits is an option?
I'm terrified that no agency will go to see my mum ultimately and then the council will try to force her into a home.
Really sorry for the rant. Bit ashamed when I see all the far worse issues people raise on here, sorry. I feel like I have no-one to turn to, the system has failed my mum, and if nothing else, the comfort of people in the same predicament will at least convince me I’m not going mad! The whole situation is making my whole family depressed, as you can imagine.
I’m not a carer as such, but I along with my siblings look out for my elderly mother who lives on her own, who is immobile and needs a hoist to use the loo and move to and from bed. She has several care visits a day from carers who the council found for us.
My mum has had various agencies, all of which are quite frankly inadequate, all happy to take the money but send untrained carers, sometimes not turning up at all but mostly very late.
A previous agency missed several visits, or sent 1 instead of 2 carers, and the general quality of care was poor. Untrained people tried to use the hoist and some carers were good but most pretty inadequate, some with a bad attitude. All agencies seem to have borderline abusive staff who talk down to my mum or say strange things that upset her. I was once verbally abused by one of the co-ordinators on the phone when I raised an issue. Every time there was an issue, such as late or missing care visits, we emailed them and copied in the council for an audit trail & never got any reply in writing to any of our queries, even when sending follow up emails. As we pay via the council, they just seem to charge the council what they were *supposed* to provide, who then just pass on that charge, likely unchecked, to us.
We then had new agency who were just as bad. Carers turned up an hour late regularly, one turning up at different times to the other. My mum got trapped in a hoist on one visit. They lost they key to her keysafe box. They didn’t seem adequately trained, or had a bad attitude & my mum is very unhappy. They have since withdrawn their services with no notice some time back when my mum was in hospital (are they actually allowed to do this? Seems like the council are powerless to do anything or interested to sanction them for such behaviour).
I’ve raised all these issues with Council Social services. They told me that the last care agency was fed up of us sending emails all the time and complaining, the result being withdrawl of the care package without notice. I said well, if they provided the care we paid for, we wouldn’t have to! And we have a right to complain for services we are paying for. They also said if we’re “always making trouble” then it’ll be difficult for us to find care agencies. I find this whole attitude unbelievable, and the system is rotten. Agencies take your money with apparently absolutely no accountability, and the council let them get away with it. When it gets tricky they simply withdraw care and cream off profit from some easier to deal with clients.
My mums condition is deteriorating (she could walk before) and we’ve also had many issues with NHS care, such as early discharges when not in a fit condition. Rehab wasn’t adequate and the NHS seems content for my mum to get worse as long as they don’t have to deal or with or pay for it.
If anyone has any advice to get a refund of the missing visits (council say they are looking into this, but despite no evidence to prove they did, as they have no logging system, the agency will probably claim they did provide the care on those occasions we know they didn’t – that’s assuming that the council actually do anything at all - recently they seem to have forgotten it all) and get better care for my mum, and how to hold the NHS, council & care agencies accountable, I’d really appreciate it. I understand that’s a big ask! I’m not sure if withholding some of the payment for what were missing visits is an option?
I'm terrified that no agency will go to see my mum ultimately and then the council will try to force her into a home.
Really sorry for the rant. Bit ashamed when I see all the far worse issues people raise on here, sorry. I feel like I have no-one to turn to, the system has failed my mum, and if nothing else, the comfort of people in the same predicament will at least convince me I’m not going mad! The whole situation is making my whole family depressed, as you can imagine.