My mother (octogenarian) is currently in hospital as a result of an illness combined with increasing mobility problems due to crumbling bones in her back. We are all very worried about her and my father who is left at home.
Without wishing to pre-judge things if she returns to some level of health it is likely that their current house will not be suitable for her as bathrooms/bedrooms are upstairs and stair lifts are not an option due to the configuration of the stairs and upstairs landing.
The needs of my father also need to be considered who is much more mobile and furiously independent but increasingly frail . Ultimately it will have to be up to them to decide what it is they want, although my fear is that may well be different for each of them.
My mother is now struggling to run a house and will need assistance so I guess the social services/meals on wheels will be a port of call but I almost dont know where to start with the housing situation. Can anybody tell me whether Warden assisted accommodation is normally purchased outright or whether rental agreements are more common ? Is there a register of reputable providers perhaps ?
Frankly I have absolutely no experience with this and would be grateful for any wisdom anybody would be prepared to share.
Many thanks
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Just some thoughts, in no particular order.
Help the Aged, now known as AGE UK, may be able to offer advice
Is their present house a council house/social housing? If it is the provider be able, or even be legally obliged to re-house them.
If they own it could it be sold for enough to buy a retirement home/flat (see below)
Retirement homes are widely available and I have never seen one. anywhere, for less than £100K. Google for McCarthy and Stone, one of the leading builders of these, they are almost always flats so your parents would need a ground floor one, I imagine. Many of these have a warden but I do not know what their duties are.
I hope this all works out for them and for you
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Warden controlled accomodation is usually owned by the local authority or a charity, though there are self owned options (eg: McCarthy & Stone type developments).
The best thing my grandparents ever did was to sell their awkward old mansion flat and move into a council run oap bungalow. They were safe, it was convenient, cheaper to heat and they had their own things around them. Grandma even had a little garden to play with. Moving into the bungalow extended their lifes by 5 to 10 happy years, I reckon.
I would think the op should contact the local council as a first stop.
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wifes mother wont go into warden assist as she doesnt want to be near a load of old people
talk to both parents before you do anything
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Bunglow is the order of the day. If they own the house help them downsize into a bungalow and use any profit from the downsize into adapting the bungalow.
Social services, through meals on wheels and home helps, can then service them. The important thing is to keep them together.
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As Bb says ~ talk to both parents and see what they would prefer,
My wife's dad is 86, lives on his own since his wife died over 30 years ago, he is virtually housebound really with an arthritic knee although he does managed to catch the local bus once a week and pick up his pension etc.,
Social services have done a lot for him over the years as has his only daughter, I can order his shopping on-line if he wants but he manages with help from a neighbour.
My 74 year old brother has just been diagnosed with Lewy bodies disease (Dementia) so in that case I think sheltered/warden assisted housing IS a must.
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My grandmother moved out of her flat into a McCarthy and Stone one aged 89.
Excellent move; somebody to check up on her if she hasn't got up in the morning, emergency pull cords, and a warden on site. Latterly they even introduced nursing/catering for those who wanted/needed it.
As for wheels on meals... with the availability of Tesco online, the ready meal, the freezer and the microwave, it's not clear to me what advantage they offer.
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>>>McCarthy and Stone.... Excellent move; somebody to check up on her if she hasn't got up in the morning, emergency pull cords, and a warden on site. Latterly they even introduced nursing/catering for those who wanted/needed it.
We had to go through all these decisions 3-5yrs ago and found that events seemed always to overtake our plans. Came close to buying a McCarthy place for the parent but the parent's perception that the warden would be an on-call helper turned out to be wide of the mark. As you say extra care has to be bought in.
These places were very well designed but a big issue was the lack of visible activity. It would be all too easy for a quiet resident to sit with virtually no-one to see all day. This compared to their old house where they could sit and see people/traffic from the front sitting room or bedroom window which gave them some feeling of being involved with the community.
In the end a nursing home was the choice of both parent and relatives because there was constant activity all day.
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>> stair lifts are not an option due to the configuration of the stairs and
>> upstairs landing.
It must be a very odd arrangement if a stairlift is impossible. Couldn't something be changed? I installed a stairlift (ebay) for my mum - it has made a world of difference.
You could also consider a domestic lift. I've seen these on ebay before, too. I'm sure there are other options.
>> The needs of my father also need to be considered
Very much so.
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Buying Sheltered/retirement home is OK if the person is on the younger end of the retirement and has all their marbles. A fall / dementia can change the person overnight from being independent and able to a person needing assistance for dressing/washing. meal preparation, housekeeping, laundry, shopping..................it just goes on and on.
A Mc&Stone flat has a warden but this is generally looking after tasks such as light bulb change,
Personal care etc comes at £££s. The latest Mc & S advert I saw was 1 hour per week inc in the service charge - 8.5 mins/day!!
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Warden assisted accomodation - Perky Penguin
