I have perused all the official sites and keep well up to date with TV info on Covid 19 but haven't come across any mention of how you are supposed to self isolate if you are caring for someone at home. All the emphasis is on protecting older people in care homes, but we have large numbers of people caring for elderly and disabled people at home. Lots of older and disabled people depend on family members to get them up, wash and dress etc., What are they supposed to do? There's mention of self isolating in shared households but nothing about what to do if you actually care for a parent or spouse and not just live with them. How can you keep two metres distance when you have to sit someone on a toilet? Is someone going to come and take over from you, I doubt it. Has anyone else come across any information about this?
Self isolation for carers: I have perused all the... - PMRGCAuk
Self isolation for carers
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I posted yesterday.... The advice I saw... Forgive me I have no idea where but I have largely been on official sites.
1. Isolate in different rooms
2. Eat and sleep in separate rooms,
3 use gloves and handwashing to protect - Doubling up gloves where soiled items exist. And double or triple bag soiled waste and keep in the sick persons in room until the gv decide how such waste is to be disposed.
4. Wash all worksurfaces and crockery with hot water
5. Use separate towels, bedding etc.
If you can use different bathrooms do so
If you usually are caring in the sense if physical care re incontinence and washing, keep implementing safeguards you should normally take when caring. If no protective gear left then you will have to improvise and shower afterwards. I was thinking about how wukd have cared for mum and dad and extra thick bin bags with dettol spray tied round my front was the closest I could come up with, especially as no aprons to be found as I can see. I even thought if one use ponchos then wonder how I would get them off. That when bin bags tied to my front hit me.
If you are a live out carer you may have to risk doing the above things and getting neighbours to contact you if anything out of the ordinary. About all protect yourself first so you can care and don't cut corners hygiene wise. If you just provide food the advice was to leave it at the door step.
Thanks Poopadoopy for giving this so much thought. As a nurse i can see that these precautions would help protect the wearer from a person with the virus. I was thinking more of a situation where the carer is supposed to be self isolating, because they have or may have the virus.
I think it's probably a case of seeing what social services... Or whatever they call themselves these days. Sheffield Jane's link may help there. The red tape as you know can be ridiculous but if you can set up a plan b with other family members, an agency or official care service it may help. Sorry. Someone who worked for those service may help too.
Hi. Yes i think the advice should be to anyone who is a carer to train up some others to step in if need be. Either family, friends or neighbours who could help you a few times to find out what's needed (with the person being cared for giving consent) . After that, if you're not already known to Social Services and receiving help, i think its unlikely you'll get any help at short notice so it would be a case of doing the best you can. I imagine that if someone you care for becomes ill they may be admitted to hospital.
There is some info on the Carers UK website, but it doesn't really help a lot unless you already have care provided. Ditto with Gov UK.
I should add that I'm not in this situation myself but I know people who are.
I suspect there are a lot of worried carers. Worried both ways if you get my drift. Hopefully as it unfolds there may be advice and resources made available.
I have copied the guidance in a new stand alone post.
Thank you, this is some of the guidance I've seen. All these are precautions you should take, but like everything else I've seen, it doesn't acknowledge the situation many carers will find themselves in where they simply have to carry on.
I don't know where you live but I found this for Suffolk residents... Perhaps there's an agency near you that offers similar...I Googled family carers covid and this came up first..
I do understand. My mum had very advanced Dementia, I don’t know how I would have coped. I notice that my local Labour Party is trying to organise help for people adversely affected by CV, volunteers, shopping, etc. You may have groups locally who could take some of the burden. If you become sick then maybe you could talk to your GP about the potential for respite care for your mum. I don’t know your situation so this maybe very wide of the mark. Take care!
It is a case of adopting barrier nursing techniques - someone has written this morning on one of the forums about caring for her mother who is in the early stages of dementia. She has the advantage of living with her though.
Even here it is less self isolation - which is used for confirmed or suspected cases - but more social distancing. That means remaining at home as much as possible, only leaving the house to shop for food, medical reasons or to go to work - which includes caring for elderly relatives - and even when you leave you stay within the confines of your own village/town unless you have a very good reason. If you do go outside it you must carry a completed form with ID info and why and where you are going.
If you live together you are highly likely to transfer the virus whatever you do - and that is why when someone is diagnosed here the entire family is isolated. Take it one stage at a time - avoid contacts as far as possible and when you are out, remain at least 1m from others. Be careful about touching things and clean your hands. The supermarket has wipes at the door - mostly! If you can get some, carry them with you. If not, wear gloves and chuck them when you have finished.
If you go to the Canadian site on covid19 you'll find that there is a section for health professionals and there could be some information in there which may give you some pointers.
I think the solution has to be for carers to isolate themselves and other members of the household from the outside world as stringently as their patient is isolated. You need to keep the virus out of the household.
Make arrangements to have food, medicines and supplies delivered to the home, whether by commercial services or by family, friends or neighbors. Stock enough for several weeks of the essentials.
Carers should have backup plans in place if they were to fall ill in any case, but in the current crisis may be reliant on what social services will be able to provide. Or the patient may need to go into temporary residential care.
Any other household member that must go to work needs to find another place to live until the crisis has passed.
Others have posted tips on what to do if the virus s already present. I'm focusing on keeping the virus out.
"Or the patient may need to go into temporary residential care."
The evidence in a few places is that is more likely to result in infection - one patient gets it and the whole place does. And here in Italy no-one is allowed to visit a care home for that reason.
Most residential care facilities are refusing visitors unless the patient is in extremis. Some states have imposed that.
If the carer is ill and can't find a substitute, though, I don't now what other alternative is available.
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