My sister and her husband are returning to the UK in the new year from living and working overseas. They are both nearly 70 and the husband has dementia. They have a 35 year old daughter who is mentally handicapped with multiple issues. She has been very happy living in residential care home and coming home every other weekend. They are all British passport holders, with National Health numbers and both parents have National Insurance numbers and in receipt of state pensions.
Neither of them are very technically minded so I have been trawling the internet for nearly a year as to where to start. It seems to be a bit of a minefield out there. Does anybody have any tips for us?
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When you say mentally handicapped, what do you mean?
My mum uses this term on my uncle,he has PMLD but in Ireland (where’s she’s from) I don’t think they knew what LD is back then.
Also,in the UK, supported living can be made to suit even the most complex of needs,when you go into residential care they take away your care benefit as it is supposed to be meeting all care needs which isn’t the case in peopl with complex needs.
As a 35 yr old who has been through them all(institution, residential care and supported living) I would be looking into supported living more because it offers more freedom (residential homes are not person centred) based on her needs,not the groups needs,more money to spend on her needs/wants,and a decent quality of life.
To start this off,She will need a community care assessment,just contact social services and they will come out and assess what she needs.
They will then give her a care package,in which three choices will be given,I think it’s called tendering.
you can go look at the places,I’d recommend asking suitable service users and staff about the place,parents if you can etc.
It will all depends on the sort of support their daughter needs, and where they plan to move to. The sort of care that is on offer varies a great deal depending here you live.
It may help to have a quick look at the faq's we have on the Mencap website about housing - mencap.org.uk/advice-and-su...
It also sounds like your sister will need additional support for her husband too, and this sort of thing will depend on where they would plan to move to, and how much money they have.
If you know where they would like to it would be worth contacting Adult services in that area. You are also welcome to call our helpline for a chat about the options. Call them on 0808 808 1111
or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.
Hope this move goes well. They are very fortunate that they have you supporting them with this.
Thank you Sarah. I shall look into the above. My niece would need residential accommodation with adequate structuring and Occupational Therapy. I am in the South Gloucestershire area and that is where we will be seeking accommodation to rent for them too.
Your niece would need to get a needs assessment done at their local authority as Sarah has suggested. They will work out how many hours she qualifies for.
If she qualifies for more than 15hrs a week, then Mencap do have accommodation in that area. We would then do a referral for her. If they couldn’t meet her needs they would then give further advice/options.
The best plan would be to contact the Helpline after a needs assessment has been done, then we can go from there.
The Alzheimer's Society would be the best starting point for your sister to get support for her husband and herself - alzheimers.org.uk
Thank you all for your replies. I have spoken to the helpline and they are waiting for me to return the referral form which I shall do shortly. I am permanently caring for my terminally ill husband at home at the moment so have a plate full. In the meantime, will my niece need a National Insurance number? She does hold a British passport and has a National Health number from previous years when she was still considered a child.
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