Dublin mum Andrea Byrne says that, 10 months after featuring on Gript, she is still “battling” to get help to care for her elderly mother who suffers with dementia.
Last year Gript visited Andrea and her mother Kay, who adopted Andrea when she was a baby.
Andrea said that she is determined to keep fighting to get the best care she can for her mum, who “worked all her life” from a young age.
Andrea told Gript that Kay is “deteriorating” and that she believes she had a TIA (mini-stroke) a few weeks ago while in hospital.
She said that after this happened, Kay was left needing the assistance of a walking frame, making her already difficult care needs more complicated as she has become more “frail”.
“Her care needs have changed slightly since then,” she said, adding that she felt Kay needs an updated care assessment in light of this.
Andrea said that she was hopeful that Complex Case Home Support provided by the HSE would help her to keep her mum at home.
The HSE describes Complex Case Home Support as “community and home care supports including the Home Support Service.” This was previously known as the Home Help Scheme.
“The HSE Home Support Service helps older people to continue living in their own homes for as long as possible. For example, it can provide support with everyday tasks such as getting in and out of bed, bathing and dressing.” it says.
The HSE says that a person’s individual needs “are assessed to determine what supports they need. These supports will be provided by the HSE or by an external provider, approved by the HSE.”
Speaking to Gript, Andrea said that she feels there is a lack of knowledge about the Complex Case Home Support and that a number of social workers she approached for advice on accessing the scheme didn’t know about it.
She said she feels that more people would be able to keep their elderly loved ones at home if they knew that the scheme offered help that can exceed the basic 57 hours on an individually assessed basis.
Gript has seen communications from the HSE where Andrea was offered 56 hour of assistance for her mum because of her level of dementia.
“It’s a story that needs to be out there,” she said, adding, “if enough people are fighting for it something will be done about it,”.
“A lot of people don’t want to put their loved one in a nursing home, and if they knew they could get up to 81 hrs that would make life easier,”.
“It would nearly mean that someone who is a carer could have a little job for a few hours on top of looking after their relative,”.
She said that as her mother requires “24 hour” care she understands how difficult it is for carers to have a life outside the home.
“You can’t do it,” she said.