Worried about a type I relative in care home

[Petaluk]

My ex mother in laws sister is in a care home and is type I diabetes as is ex my mother in law. He sister has been ringing her distraught as her bg levels have been recently either 20-25 and on one occasion 2. She is also bedbound. The diet in the home is pastry pies rich tea biscuits etc. Although the information given to me is secondhand and sketchy, I’m very concerned for ‘my auntie’ she is not local so no one can pop in and see her , it is a 4 hours drive away. She has a phone but apparently (?) it is not programmed to dial 999. She is drifting into deep depression and is convinced some of the staff are trying to kill her. I’ve told my ex mother in law to ring the local social services, which she has, but they have not got back to her as yet. Ideally we would like her to be moved back to our area so as we can pop in and see her. does anyone have any experience or advice they could share please? Thank you

 

[Robinredbreast]

My ex mother in laws sister is in a care home and is type I diabetes as is ex my mother in law. He sister has been ringing her distraught as her bg levels have been recently either 20-25 and on one occasion 2. She is also bedbound. The diet in the home is pastry pies rich tea biscuits etc. Although the information given to me is secondhand and sketchy, I’m very concerned for ‘my auntie’ she is not local so no one can pop in and see her , it is a 4 hours drive away. She has a phone but apparently (?) it is not programmed to dial 999. She is drifting into deep depression and is convinced some of the staff are trying to kill her. I’ve told my ex mother in law to ring the local social services, which she has, but they have not got back to her as yet. Ideally we would like her to be moved back to our area so as we can pop in and see her. does anyone have any experience or advice they could share please? Thank you

Hi, can your ex MIL go and see the manager of the home( or another close family member) and also the nursing staff to discuss the worries and concerns, as her diabetes number's are very high and something must be done asap to get them lower and stabilised, poor lady I do feel for her ?

 

[Petaluk]

Hi, can your ex MIL go and see the manager of the home( or another close family member) and also the nursing staff to discuss the worries and concerns, as her diabetes number's are very high and something must be done asap to get them lower and stabilised, poor lady I do feel for her ?

We are trying to contact her son (awkward..as maaasive family feud) to put him in the picture, he has been unwell himself so has not visited her for a while.

 

[Robinredbreast]

We are trying to contact her son (awkward..as maaasive family feud) to put him in the picture, he has been unwell himself so has not visited her for a while.

Oh dear, I do hope she can get some help soon, having number's that high would make her feel sick and very thirsty too.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Petaluk I don't have experience of care homes or care provided in regards to type 1, however this sounds like a very unfortunate situation, that's not being managed well at all, running high levels places her at serious risk of ketoacidosis which would require hospital care, no wonder she is paranoid, she has high levels of glucose in her blood and may well be dehydrated as a result too.

Someone needs to intervene urgently, can you contact the management of this care home to discuss your concerns and alert them to the seriousness of the situation, if it is under a NHS trust can you make a formal complaint so contact the local trust direct to find out what their complaints procedure is ?

 

[Struma]

Maybe it's possible to talk to the lady's GP, or the GP covering the home. They're probably unaware of the situation.

 

[KK123]

My ex mother in laws sister is in a care home and is type I diabetes as is ex my mother in law. He sister has been ringing her distraught as her bg levels have been recently either 20-25 and on one occasion 2. She is also bedbound. The diet in the home is pastry pies rich tea biscuits etc. Although the information given to me is secondhand and sketchy, I’m very concerned for ‘my auntie’ she is not local so no one can pop in and see her , it is a 4 hours drive away. She has a phone but apparently (?) it is not programmed to dial 999. She is drifting into deep depression and is convinced some of the staff are trying to kill her. I’ve told my ex mother in law to ring the local social services, which she has, but they have not got back to her as yet. Ideally we would like her to be moved back to our area so as we can pop in and see her. does anyone have any experience or advice they could share please? Thank you

Hi there, I do have experience of a person in a care home followed by a nursing home with type 1 (my Mum). The first thing to do is to go and visit her (I know it's a long way away) and look at her records, if the staff are giving her her insulin there will be records of every reading and the amount of insulin given. There should also be a record of what she has eaten. If you view this then you will have a better understanding of what is going on.
There presumably is a medical reason why your relative is there in the first place (was it to do with type 1?). Following all of that, make sure you make an appointment and speak to the MANAGER of the care home expressing your concerns. Once they are aware that YOU are aware and interested they will pull their socks up.
If your relative gives herself injections then again are these recorded? If she appears to be struggling then you definitely need to get social services involved, with my Mum they came in to do her injections 3 times a day.
Is this a care home (ie independent living) or a nursing home? One thing I do know, NEITHER are set up specifically for people with type 1 diabetes and the staff do not have a clue when it comes to food. All of this can be written into her care plan, it takes dedication to do all this but it is worth it. Bear in mind also that your relative may also have dementia with regard to some of the things she says (or maybe she is hyper or hypo when she says these things because her glucose levels are out of control). Hope this helps.

 

[Petaluk]

Hi there, I do have experience of a person in a care home followed by a nursing home with type 1 (my Mum). The first thing to do is to go and visit her (I know it's a long way away) and look at her records, if the staff are giving her her insulin there will be records of every reading and the amount of insulin given. There should also be a record of what she has eaten. If you view this then you will have a better understanding of what is going on.
There presumably is a medical reason why your relative is there in the first place (was it to do with type 1?). Following all of that, make sure you make an appointment and speak to the MANAGER of the care home expressing your concerns. Once they are aware that YOU are aware and interested they will pull their socks up.
If your relative gives herself injections then again are these recorded? If she appears to be struggling then you definitely need to get social services involved, with my Mum they came in to do her injections 3 times a day.
Is this a care home (ie independent living) or a nursing home? One thing I do know, NEITHER are set up specifically for people with type 1 diabetes and the staff do not have a clue when it comes to food. All of this can be written into her care plan, it takes dedication to do all this but it is worth it. Bear in mind also that your relative may also have dementia with regard to some of the things she says (or maybe she is hyper or hypo when she says these things because her glucose levels are out of control). Hope this helps.

Thank you so much. I didn’t know they recorded what she has eaten as well as her blood sugar readings. This could prove to be very helpful. She is in a care home, not independent living as she is bedbound.

 

[Petaluk]

Update..Luckily her GP visited her yesterday and she was able to tell him the situation. Apparently this has lead to a meeting with all the staff about her care, possibly about her care plan. Thank you all so much for your help and advice, much appreciated

 

[Petaluk]

Hello @Petaluk I don't have experience of care homes or care provided in regards to type 1, however this sounds like a very unfortunate situation, that's not being managed well at all, running high levels places her at serious risk of ketoacidosis which would require hospital care, no wonder she is paranoid, she has high levels of glucose in her blood and may well be dehydrated as a result too.

Someone needs to intervene urgently, can you contact the management of this care home to discuss your concerns and alert them to the seriousness of the situation, if it is under a NHS trust can you make a formal complaint so contact the local trust direct to find out what their complaints procedure is ?

My ex MIL has been in contact with someone in her sisters area, who took all the necessary details, dob, care home etc. So hopefully this will get the ball rolling. Her sister was visited by a GP yesterday as well, who seems to have intervened, the care home staff were having a big meeting about her care yesterday, apparently.We are much more hopeful about this dire situation now. Thank you for your advice

 

[KK123]

My ex MIL has been in contact with someone in her sisters area, who took all the necessary details, dob, care home etc. So hopefully this will get the ball rolling. Her sister was visited by a GP yesterday as well, who seems to have intervened, the care home staff were having a big meeting about her care yesterday, apparently.We are much more hopeful about this dire situation now. Thank you for your advice

Petaluk, that is so good to know. I know you cannot visit often but set up an 'arrangement' where you phone the care home and speak to her carers/Manager for updates. Maybe once a week or every two weeks for example, when you start asking them 'What were her levels today, how much insulin did you give her and what has she eaten' that really does make them aware that there is someone looking out for her. Please update us if you can. Also make sure they follow the care plan. x

 

[lizdeluz]

I know how worrying it is to have a close relative in a care home, especially when you can't 'drop in' regularly to check up and support, and especially when Type 1 is part of the problem. I'm glad things appear to be much better now but it is bound to be a question of monitoring the care home's procedures as best you can. Thinking of you.

 

[Grumpy ole thing]

My ex mother in laws sister is in a care home and is type I diabetes as is ex my mother in law. He sister has been ringing her distraught as her bg levels have been recently either 20-25 and on one occasion 2. She is also bedbound. The diet in the home is pastry pies rich tea biscuits etc. Although the information given to me is secondhand and sketchy, I’m very concerned for ‘my auntie’ she is not local so no one can pop in and see her , it is a 4 hours drive away. She has a phone but apparently (?) it is not programmed to dial 999. She is drifting into deep depression and is convinced some of the staff are trying to kill her. I’ve told my ex mother in law to ring the local social services, which she has, but they have not got back to her as yet. Ideally we would like her to be moved back to our area so as we can pop in and see her. does anyone have any experience or advice they could share please? Thank you

Hi @Petaluk , usually someone in a care home will have a Social Worker, even if Mum-in-law is self funding she can request a social services assessment. As a T1D and bedbound it might be worth requesting an NHS Continuing Healthcare Assessment, for access to a level of nursing input. If Mum in law does not meet the criteria for fully funded NHS continuing health care she might get an element of Funded Nursing Care. Her medication and dietary requirements should be logged in her careplan. For out of hours assistance contact the Social Services Emergency Duty Team. Note that your Social Services Team is based on your local authority area, whereas your NHS CCG is based on your GP. (sorry that's about all I know), hope it helps. Hope things soon improve x

 

[Petaluk]

Hi all, thought I would update you on everything. Auntie is now in hospital, they tested her for dementia and she’s fine apparently. Although her physical health not so. Her kidneys are barely functioning and they are still running numerous tests. So glad she is under medical supervision. Hopefully her blood glucose will improve now. Thanks for all your support