This is to warn anyone who is looking after their husband or wife at home, has no family or close friends and is acting as the main/sole carer. In the event suddenly you fall ill and have to be admitted by ambulance to A&E, you MUST make sure you tell the local GP and the ambulance people that you are leaving your totally dependent, frail husband or wife all alone with no-one to look after them. They MUST put carers in place for 24/7 care immediately as your partner cannot be left alone and is unable to feed themselves and has great difficulty getting to the WC without assistance. If home carers are not possible, including private ones, then a place has to be found in a care home for the duration of the spouse's stay in hospital. Failure to tell the medical people when calling for an ambulance of the frailty of your remaining partner means that no care is provided at all.
The NHS/Social Services have a duty of care but it takes time to set up carers, no good waiting until you're in a hospital bed! Mere neighbours scramble about trying to do their best against all the odds but simply cannot give the care needed, don't know or understand the medication required either. Put simply, it's a nightmare for everyone concerned!
Sorry, rather garbled grammar and sentences but am somewhat fraught at the moment. |