Mum's mobility

[Pudsey123]

So this week has not been great! Mum has been told that the carer's are now having to hoist her and she is devastated by this. She feels that this is the end of her independance and finds the whole experience degrading. The issue is she is leaning badly to the right and they fear for her and the carers safety. I 100% get it being in the medical profession but I also feel for mum. I'm wondering if anyone has any information on where I can get a wheelchair that can support my mum from leaning? She has the bog standard one but this is now uncomfortable and c/o back pain and feeding her is becoming difficult. Thanks for listening

[Millidog]

Hi, i thought the NHS wheelchair service are meant to provide an appropriate supportive chair to meet specific needs. I know this is meant to happen when someone is at home but I'm not sure if the same rules apply when in a care home. It may be worth ringing the PSPA for advice. Also to get an idea of suitable wheelchairs look on line at good large wheelchair providers and give them a call, many of them are real experts and can give you the advice you are seeking.

[Bergenser]

Dear Pudsey123 - so sorry to hear this and totally understand how your mum feels about the hoisting. While you might need to have a hoist available for emergencies, there is a lot of merit in carrying on with Sara Steady or similar aids as long as possible - standing upright is so important for staying well. I hope you can get the care provider to support your mum with this even if they sometimes might have to use the hoist.

The leaning is quite common. My husband did this more and less over time, and I would get anxious when helping him stand and move. The physio devised exercises to stretch the opposite way, and asked that he was positioned to sleep on the opposite side. We moved his table to the opposite side of his chair too. What really helped though were some lateral support pillows from Amazon - I'll find the link.

The wheelchair should really be sorted by the NHS wheelchair service - it might take a while from referral to actual fitting so you may have to get very pushy. If you are able to get her more comfortable in the meantime it would hopefully help a bit - and if she uses a riser/recliner chair, there needs to be lateral support and positioning there as well.

Best of luck. 🌻🫂

[Bergenser in reply to Bergenser]

healthunlocked.com/psp/post... post on the topic of leaning.

amzn.eu/d/8QtQ1s2

Link to the product mentioned. Please note we did NOT use it the way the illustration on Amazon suggests. As recommended by someone else on the thread, both support wedges were put on the same side, and held in place (in the recliner or the wheel chair) using the long velcro strap. We found it very useful though I think multiple approaches are needed.

[LARWLSN in reply to Bergenser]

We used this thing, or the US equivalent, all the time. Mom can't sit straight without a lot of support, so this works well, especially in the car.

[Kelmisty]

I’ve seen people in my Mums nursing home who have wheelchairs (internal use only) that are best described as large armchairs on wheels - I’m certain this would help?

My Mums leaning is bad too not to the point of not being able to sit in a normal wheelchair but I can see it coming.

[Harshacceptance]

do you have OT support? They can assist to ensure you have the right equipment that changes through disease progression.

Dad has advanced CBD - the carers use a return for transfers from bed to commode to chair.

He also has a big electric arm chair - idk what that called 🤣 but it helps with his positioning that was provided by the NHS OT. The electric component helps the carers move him to the return etc as they literally tip him via the harness to the return

Dad is having a new assessment as the return he has now is deemed upsafe, his progression has progressed and they are looking at a hoist / return … there are lots of options to look at. Dad is totally immobile, he can just about weight bare with a harness on the return.

[messier]

Hi Pudsey123 - my mum also had CBD and went through exactly the problem you describe. She was in a nursing home and they got to the stage where they insisted that their risk assessment meant she had to be hoisted even though she pushed back for as long as she could. She really didn’t like the sense of helplessness of going through the air but also getting the right size and shape of sling took some experimenting at my insistence as she said it hurt under her legs. We eventually moved to the sort that can stay underneath you because she also hated the way the staff had to manoeuvre her to get the sling under her - because of course she had no ability to move her arms, legs, trunk etc for herself. So in summary - listen to your mum and be a pain if you need to with the nursing home. Oh and we couldn’t get occupational health out to advise because the NHS said the nursing home should provide this but they just had a manual handling person from their head office!

In our area the wheelchair services have a policy of not providing wheelchairs for those in nursing homes on the basis that the nursing home is meant to provide it. But of course all that the nursing home would provide was the basic upright wheelchair! I wasted a lot of time trying to get to the bottom of this not realising that I could simply ask the GP to make a referral to wheelchair services who then provided the policy. So do see if you can find out the local policy directly or ask the GP for a referral.

Similarly the home only provided and upright armchair and she leaned terribly despite cushions and propping up. So I bought a second hand wheeled armchair that could be wheeled around inside the nursing home to the dining room and living room and even into part of the garden. It had a leg lift and tilted back. That really helped with dealing with the leaning because her trunk was supported by lying back on it.

When I got CHC I used the money saved in nursing home fees to get a proper electric tilt in space wheelchair - though in the end only got a few short months of use

Sorry for such a long post but I hope it spares you going round in circles with confusion!

[Rose1sunflower]

hello Pudsey My husbands muscle tone and weight makes it really difficult to use the overhead hoist. The Carers originally used a ReTurn to get him from the bed to the shower chair but he is leaning too heavily to the left, so now use a Minilift. It has a belt that supports him whilst he is moved. The shower chair is being changed to a chair that tilts, which helps support people who lean to one side. We are waiting for the rep to come to show us adaptations to this chair. Apparently it can have side supports added to aid people who lean.

The ReTurn was a really useful of apparatus but the extent of the lean and his weight made it unsafe to use with him. The minilift is battery powered, and quite big and clunky but does the job.

What do the OT’s suggest? Both of these came via them.

[lunarquasar]

Hi we have a Rea Azalea wheelchair for my wife supplied by Wheelchair services through the local Hospice, it has side pads you can fit in which helps keep someone upright and is suitable for sitting in all day. It is adjusted for each person individually to ensure correct fit.

Hope this helps

[Wombatz]

I agree the wheelchair services can supply one. We have a Rea Azalea wheelchair being delivered in 10 days time. It's tilt-in-space type and there a lot of assessories available I understand. Such as shaped back cushions. Several people in our local PSPA Support Group have recommended it.We have found you really have to pester Wheelchair Services. I agree with getting an OT involved.

[messier in reply to Wombatz]

Sadly wheelchair services can and do have different policies for residents of nursing homes. It's utterly bonkers but I raise it so that others don't waste time. If your loved one is in a nursing home go straight to find your area's policy so that you can sort what your loved one needs quicker than I did!

[Dance1955]

hi Pudsey so sorry to hear about your mum

My husband leaned to the side a lot I got him a tilt and recline wheelchair it was very comfortable in the end I used as a chair for him as he constantly fell out of the recliner chair but not out of his recliner wheelchair and it was great for moving him around

As for the hoist is mum can weight bear have the carers tried a Sarah stedy not everyone knows about them but they have to be able to weight bear and to hold on

Hugs to you I hope this helps