My mum has Parkinson’s and is into year 4 of her diagnosis. She is declining rapidly - both physically and mentally - and lives alone.
We don’t have any space at all where we live so I think we’ll be forced to move her to some form of supported living accommodation. She is not quite at nursing home stage yet but that will come.
Can anyone kindly point me in the right direction to start the process? Do local authorities generally provide any sort of funding support for this? My mum lives in Surrey.
We wanted to welcome you to the forum, and thank you for sharing. We understand this is a daunting task, finding a supported living space for your mum. Happily, we have a team of wonderful advisers at our Helpline who can help you get started. Please feel encouraged to call them at 0808 800 0303.
We also have a website at https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/ with a wealth of helpful information and links to loads of resources, national and local. It’s very easy to search using the field in the top right of the page, which can lead you to research, articles, and even archived forum threads.
Please accept our fondest wishes to you and yours, and again, welcome to the forum.
Jason
Moderation Team
You will need to contact her local council. I don’t know if it’s still the same process but my Dad applied a few years ago, was given a banded rating and he bid on suitable properties until he was allocated one. It was subject to means, savings and need. He was eventually able to move into a property with a Housing Trust. It is a sheltered setup with access to a shared coordinator for the building, however although there is a community there and some common areas are shared, it is actually classed as independent living. If he needed any kind of nursing care, there is nobody on site. I presume that would have to be arranged privately or through social care system. It really depends on your mum’s current needs and how she is managing.
I understand you very well because I have been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for over 5 years. So far, I have it in the second stage, although it was in the third. I felt how my facial expressions worsened, I also felt tension in my muscles, and it was quite difficult for me to move around. For the last six months, I have been living in seniorsite.org old age village, where I was looked after very well. I was regularly given the necessary medicines and developed a plan for a healthy diet and physical activity that I could still perform. And during these half a year, I felt a slight regression of the disease. The facial expression is still at the same level, but my joints have become more mobile, and muscle tension has decreased. Therefore, take a look at this site with assisted living. They provide very good care for seniors.
Hello jamessmith_1979, I have very belatedly picked up on your post when a more recent response was added so you may well have got your mother’s situation sorted by now. However in case it may be useful to you or anyone else. I currently live alone but in preparation for the time when I will probably have to move I initially put my name down for what is called round here flexicare, it has other names in other areas. It is basically a block of flats so you have your own front door but there are communal areas and care staff on site. I was able to put my name down as part of forward planning. The council will assist with funding once you fall below the savings threshold. I have recently been rethinking this as I have a flat to sell and so will be paying full rent and costs which will steadily decrease my capital and there may not then be enough to give me the options I would like if my deterioration made it untenable to remain in flexicare. So instead I am considering possibly moving straight into one of the new style care homes that are popping up all over the country and are a lot different to what generally is expected in a care home, they are more like hotels, and the cash from my flat sale will buy an annuity to cover the fees. Please note it is strongly advised that you get specialist advice if you are considering this.
I hope you managed to get your mother’s situation resolved, if not maybe what I’ve written will give you another option to consider.
Tot
