Hi all,. my 65yr old dad has just cam... - Lung Conditions C...

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Hi all,. my 65yr old dad has just came out of icu. He was very ill with pneumonia this is when we learned he has had COPD for several yrs

vickyt profile image
19 Replies

Problem is he is homeless as such and living in very poor condition's. My parents had to sell their house in October or have it repossessed as my dad is a builder and not been very capable of working a full day for quite a few yrs now. My parents are having to live separate since then as my mum is living with my sister but my dad can not as she has cat's and a dog so he is living with my niece (dads grand daughter) She has 2 children herself and her partner and rent a 2 bed 3rd floor flat. Dad has been sleeping on their sofa the last 5 months. After his recent hospitalization he can only walk for a few min's before he gets very dizzy and his legs buckle and he looses breath so is totally house bound as he can not walk down the 3 flights of stairs to get out of my nieces flat. My parents have been on the council register for 5 months now and have been voting every week for a flat/bungalow but getting no where.. Does anyone know of any help with housing in these circumstances please ??.

Many Thank's Vicky

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vickyt
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19 Replies
Gordon57 profile image
Gordon57

Suggest you get on to Shelter ASAP - shelter.org.uk/. You don't say how old he is but there's possible help via Age UK as well - ageuk.org.uk/

It may also be useful to contact the community matron, there's a leaflet about the service at : dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/gr...

There's always the BLF helpline as well - 03000 030 555

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to Gordon57

Hi,.

Thank's for your help. I put 56 but he is 65, in a bit of a fluster at mo.. Thank's again will check out all your link's :)

Gordon57 profile image
Gordon57 in reply to vickyt

Oops, I missed his age in the title, ah well.

I feel so sorry for your mum and especially your dad Vicky. They are so lucky to have such a caring family looking out for them. I hope thing get sorted out soon and give you all peace of mind . Good luck. Syl xx

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to

Thank you Syl,. he is a tough man it's hard seeing him so broken and frail :)

susiecue62 profile image
susiecue62

susiecue62

sorry to hear about your parents,just two suggestions,first would be to maybe ask your dads doctor to write a health report to their local council regarding his present living conditions,also have they asked about sheltered housing,which they may be able to get due to your father health

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to susiecue62

Hi,.

Thank you for your help/advice. Dad's doctor did write a letter before he was admitted to ICU,. i took it into the council with mum whilst dad was in ICU and the housing officer just said it doesn't change anything it may put their band up but she can't promise. She said there is a shortage of housing and other's worse off, i asked how worse off my parent's can get as we had been told the day before from the lung specialist that we should expect a call anytime to come into hospital as they did not expect my dad to pull through. She just shrugged her shoulder's. Not tried sheltered housing, don't know much about it. Another fella left a link for me so will click on in a min. Is this temporary shared accommodation?, Thank you for your help :)

susiecue62 profile image
susiecue62

susiecue62

hi there vickyt,no sheltered house is not temporary it is warden controlled ,and with your dads illness he should qualify, also you could try housing association housing. But i would not give up with council.also you could get advice from your local law centre.Have you or your parents looked into any benefits as well. i hope this will help in someway please let me know

vickyt profile image
vickyt

Hiyer,

Will contact sheltered housing in the morning with mum,. Not had any advice about benefit's, not sure where to go or what he may be entitled to, he hasn't seen a doctor since coming out of hospital as it's a long waiting list at our's he has an appointment tomorrow morning so we was going to ask the dr about benefit's, would he be classed as disabled?, We also don't know what stage the COPD is at, the lung specialist said less than 1/3 is working but can you have test's to get a more accurate percentage as i think this would make a difference as to whether he would be entitled to benefit's. He is claiming pension credit, the one that you can stop claiming if you get work :)

longdays profile image
longdays in reply to vickyt

god bless i hopr both your dad and mum , get the help they need and should

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to longdays

Thank you :)

medow profile image
medow

Another charity to try is st mungo's, they are based in London, dad is a vulnerable adult, something ought to happen for him, I really feel for you mum and dad, this is not what should be happening to them, take good care of you too x x x

vickyt profile image
vickyt

I will try St Mungo's.. Thanky you :)

It shouldn't no, dad's worked is whole life and alway's paid his taxes. We seem to live in a world where no one care's.. Only joined this site yesterday afternoon and member's have been really helpful and supportive. I'm very grateful, Thank you so much for all your time :)

derrylynne profile image
derrylynne

I would suggest you telephone the BLF helpline as they should be able to point you to the right road and support you. He should be entitled to housing very quickly due to his health and age. Good luck and hope your dad soon has better days.

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to derrylynne

Thank you,. have rang them today and they are going to do some digging around and get back to me.. finger's crossed ;)

jhn111 profile image
jhn111

hi iv got copd .although im not homeless..you should contact your local ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES... they very good hope it helps..they visit me time to time and find them very good ..

vickyt profile image
vickyt in reply to jhn111

Hi jhn111,

We asked my dad's Gp to contact them yesterday, hopefully they will be of some help. He is sleeping on my nieces sofa at mo on a 3rd floor flat with no lift's.. He can't manage the 3 flight's of stair's at all. 4 of us had to carry him down yesterday to get him to his doctor's appointment. We told the doc the trouble we have to go to to get him to see her and asked if she could do home visit's.. she said no not if your family can get you down here. I have continuous slipped disk's and 30% nerve damage in leg from sciatica but still expected to carry a 15st man down 3 flight's of stair's so really need some one to help us :)

in reply to vickyt

Its just not right, when you read in the paper about a women with 11 kids having a 6 bedroom house built by the council, yet your mum and dad cant even get a one bedroom house. There is no justice in this country. I hope something gets sorted out for you soon Vicky, I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Good luck. Syl xxx

vickyt profile image
vickyt

Hi Syl,.

Had some good new's today (well we hope) Dad had physio's visit today and they are sorting all the aid's he need's so he can finally have a bath after 2week's of strip washing him in the sink, and a frame to help him walk etc..They also know an ex nurse that now work's for a copd charity and they have called her and she is coming to visit dad, she say's yes he is entitled to Benefit's and she will be able to get mum and dad housing quite quickly. She said they shouldn't of been left like this but it doesn't matter now some one is helping. I don't know much about copd but i am learning day by day, i know it's an awful illness but it's not the main worry at the moment. It's watching my dad being so depressed, i'm 39 and never seen him cry before. He feel's like there's no where to turn and that he has let my mum down by being homeless when they have alway's had their own house ( well mortgage), I know he will never improve and slowly get worse health wise but if we can get them a house together again he will feel better within himself and hopefully that will slow down the copd maybe as the stress can't be helping. The ray of hope he has been given today has cheered him up :)

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