Corona Virus need advice...

[Lynn Adele]

Hi I'm new to this forum so bear with me I need advice...
I'm type 2 have been for 10yrs...I work as a cleaning supervisor in a port and have been told I need to go to work as I wont get paid during this time...I am also my dads solo carer he is 90yrs old and lives on his own and has mobility/balance issues hes very frail. I have to go in and see to his needs...I dont know what to do..I need to work to pay my Bill's but I also need to take care off myself and my dad...any help here would be appreciated...

 

[Drummer]

I don't think that it is their call - maybe consult your dad's GP and also see what benefits might be available, but it doesn't seem logical to tell someone to fail to isolate a 90 year old when the virus could kill him.

 

[Lynn Adele]

I don't think that it is their call - maybe consult your dad's GP and also see what benefits might be available, but it doesn't seem logical to tell someone to fail to isolate a 90 year old when the virus could kill him.

The last thing i want to do is put him at risk but he isn't able to be on his own 24/7 either and there is no other care package in place. He relies on me... If I am told to isolate then I will have no other choice but to call his GP for advice and seek help for him... Benefits isn't an Option as I am a full time worker...

 

[Andy HB]

There is always the Attendance Allowance for your Dad. Maybe check with Age Concern (I seem to remember they were very helpful when we dealt with my father a few years ago).

But there may also be other options available to you under the new government legislation.

 

[Lynn Adele]

Thankyou I think he gets that benefit. Hes very well off it's not about his money...But I don't have the option as I need to work... . .

 

[missclb]

Hi Lynn and welcome to the forum. It's a worrying situation with frail parents, I feel your pain. We've had to stop doing our care visits to my in-laws (which is the reason we moved here 6 months ago). But we're lucky in that they have a carer come in each day to get them up and dressed etc). We just don't want to risk passing anything on, which is what i'm assuming your biggest concern is with your father, understandably.

You're stuck between a rock and a hard place if work need you to be physically in place. The immediate need is that he has some form of care and support if you can't be the one to do it, under current circumstances.

Presumably he manages on a normal day when you are at work, so is there any way to get a care package in place for mornings and evenings, to pick up what you would normally do? Alternatively, if money isn't so much of a concern for your family, could you take unpaid leave so that you can be the one to look after him as you normally would, during all this?

 

[Drummer]

I meant that you two should be isolated from the contact with the outside world, not you two should separate from eachother - though if your father gets a benefit to enable him to pay for what care he needs, shouldn't you be included in that financial arrangement? When we were involved in the care of my mother in law, visiting, getting her shopping, and the like, there was an allowance for that.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear about the difficult situation you are in @Lynn Adele

These are the official recommendations for social distancing ‘strongly advised’ for people with diabetes

[Withdrawn] [Withdrawn] Guidance on social distancing for everyone in the UK

www.gov.uk

And the new restrictions on movement

[Withdrawn] Staying at home and away from others (social distancing)

www.gov.uk

 

[Ditto]

Just live on Carers and Income Support. It's do-able, we do it! 🙂 In fact, I always felt peoples on Attendance Allowance were very comfortable as I was 'brought up poor' so the amount of money Mum gets seems like a fortune to me. You apply online. I wouldn't think of going out with a 90yr old in the house. Couldn't you just move in for him for the duration? That's what I would do. In fact, it was what I did.