Your Care Questions Answered by Angela Gifford

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"I am a single lady aged 72 without any close relatives. At the moment I am quite fit and can look after myself. There may come a time when I cannot however, and I have decided that I will go into a home for my final years. Where can I find out about homes in my area and the cost of staying in one?"

Answer : If you want to stay in your local area it is probably best for you to seek out the information locally. You can contact your local Age Concern Office and your local Social Services Office who will give you details about residential and nursing homes and the applicable costs. Age Concern have a Factsheet Number 29, which gives comprehensive information about finding residential and nursing home accommodation, including questions that you should ask when choosing a home.

It is a good idea however, to ask people in your locality, such as your GP or local District Nurse for their opinion on homes in your area. They are probably going into many of them in their professional capacity and will have an opinion on whether any home may or may not be ones for you to look at.

Answer : The simple answer is "yes". Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer. It does not smell, is invisible and can be fatal. Heating and cooking appliances fuelled by coal, smokeless fuels, wood, oil and gas, if they are poorly installed, incorrectly used, poorly maintained, or room ventilation is poor, can produce this dangerous gas. If this gas is emitted, a smoke detector will not pick this up.

Most accidents, there are about 50 fatalities a year, happen in the living room. Carbon monoxide alarms can be purchased from hardware stores, DIY stores and some supermarkets. It is recommended that every occupied floor of the house has one. The cost of a detector is about £5 or £6.

Answer : Assuming that he would not want to have an Assessment of Care carried out by his local Social Services Dep., which would be able to make practical suggestions, the following ideas may be acceptable...

• It is appropriate to look to a time in the future when your Father may not be as fit as he is now and therefore it is common sense to make small changes in advance of that time.

• If regularly used power points are at a low level, move them to waist height. Replace plugs with ones which have a special grip or handle.

• If lots of items used are kept in high cupboards, such as groceries, linen, etc, move the cupboards or goods to an easily accessible level.

• Put carpeting down in the bathroom, it is safer than vinyl flooring or loose rugs. Put a rubber bath math into the bath if there isn’t one. If the shower does not have a thermal cut-out, see if one can be fitted.

• Check the lighting, making sure that the wattage of the bulbs gives good all round vision. If there are stairs in the house, make sure they are well lit. Look for trailing flexes, wrinkled carpets and loose rugs and make them non hazardous.

• When using electric power tools, suggest he uses them in conjunction with a residual current device (RCD). Makes an acceptable birthday present for someone who does not have one!

• At night a bed side lamp is safer than having to get up in the dark and making a way to the light switch. If his home has only one telephone point, it may also be a good idea to have some extensions put in place. e.g. bedroom.

Answer : There are several methods that you can use to help you choose...

You could ask your Mother and her friends/neighbours if they have heard good reports of any local companies. Your local Social Services offices should have a list of Approved Providers which they can give you. These are companies/agencies providing care who have been inspected by the Local Authority to standards laid down by them. They are usually quite comprehensive and some authorities have the results of their inspection of each company on their Internet site.

You could approach an organisation called the United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) and ask them for names and details of agencies in the area. They have a leaflet titled "Choosing Care in your Home" which includes a number of questions that you may like to ask of any agency that you approach. Their telephone number is 020 8288 1551. Or visit the UKHCA website

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