Improving social service support

[Flurry123]

Hi I was wondering if anyone has advice for a carer. My daughter has had 4 brain haemorrhages and I am her main carer . She lives in rented accommodation and has 2visits a day from social services. The care she receives is becoming quite poor as non of her present careers have any idea of the effects of brain injury. They are hardly even speaking to her and I appear to be doing more and more( I am now 76 ) I have spoken to her social services assessor and asked for more informed support from them.

Is there anything else I could do to improve her support. She can be quite verbally aggressive if she thinks people are looking down on her.

[sospan]

It must be very difficult for you coping like this. There should be care support for not only your daughter but for yourself as well.

Rather than go through all the internal channels of your local authority, contact your MP directly. Whilst it may seem extreme, it is exactly what they are paid for and a letter with the House of Commons letter head to the Director of Service has a very immediate effect.

What is unknown to most people, is that all organisations have two channels for complaints one from the public and the other for letters from Regulators, Parliament and Journalists. Need not say which one gets the most priority.

You don not need to write to the MP, just call their office on Tuesday and explain your situation to one of the secretaries and they will take up your case.

You can find your MP here members.parliament.uk/FindY...

[Marnie22 in reply to sospan]

I have seen the magic power of a piece of House of Commons notepaper for myself. My MP told me of it and it's true! I battled for months with Adult Social care trying to secure funds to attend my local Headway group. I involved my MP and suddenly everything was organised!Best of luck. 🙂🌸

[Flurry123 in reply to Marnie22]

Hi thank you for your support . My worry is that social services are going to suggest a reduction in their support as a ‘cost cutting exercise’ as they have little idea how to support brain injured clients. In London I know they have neuro nurses for you to refer to when you need support but here there is nothing.👍

[Marnie22 in reply to Flurry123]

It's very hard. The Headway helpline on 0808 800 2244 is great if you haven't already phoned them.

[Flurry123 in reply to sospan]

Hi thank you so much for your reply I hadn’t considered going to my MP at all so if social services don’t come up with so improved support I shall do as you suggest👍

[sospan in reply to Flurry123]

No problem,

The other facet to complaining directly to Adult Services is that it tents to cause the staff to "close ranks" and then the relationship breaks down completely. The issue is dealt with at a lower level than when the MP writes directly to the Director of Service.

I wouldn't wait for Social Services just write to the MP now. So when they do contact you, you can slip it into the conversation that you are already talking to your MP. That normally causes what is referred to as an "attitude readjustment"

[Painting-girl in reply to Flurry123]

Its a good idea to contact your MP, they are good at helping people that might otherwise get lost in the system - the staff they employ are usually knowledgeable as well. They will also point you in the direction of the best people to help you.

You can reach them pretty easily on email. Remember to put your full name, address, postcode and phone number on your email, as they can only reply to their own constituents.

parliament.uk/get-involved/...

As Marnie says, don't forget to contact Headway for support and information too.

Let us know how you get on 🌸