Brenda lived in a place where she wasn’t happy and it affected her mental health and wellbeing, she eventually got her own home and went there to live independently with a Package of Care.
What did we do to help?
Brenda’s package of care was 2 – 3 calls a day by an agency, and a couple of hours a week for social inclusion/companionship. Being in her own home she was much happier, but after a while she began to have problems with the agency.
They were becoming unreliable, sending lots of different staff which Brenda struggled with, in particular men, and she felt the people who managed the company were not truthful with her, so she had lost her trust in them. The company also were no longer providing the full package of care for Brenda and requested we find alternative care so they could give notice.
Brenda didn’t think she could employ her own personal assistants or manage the budget, she wanted to look for a different agency. We tried this but was only able to find one agency who could do one of the calls, we accepted this with the expectation that they would provide the 3 calls when they had more staff available – this didn’t happen.
Brenda told us about a carer that she really got on well with and this was the one that provided her social support through the agency. We spoke with the carer (or PA/Personal Assistant) together and found out that she wasn’t happy where she was working.
We talked about trying to involve the North West Care Co-Operative (NWCC), they are a not for profit organisation that employs PA’s on behalf of the client and work together supporting each other. Brenda really liked this idea and so did the PA – who went on to join NWCC and began working as Brenda’s only PA, we found an agency to do one call each day at the weekends. The NWCC provide alternative care when the PA is on holiday.
Where we are now
Brenda’s new care arrangements have been in place for over 6 months and we worked with Commissioning Nurse to review how Brenda’s care needs were being supported. Brenda was asked how the care is going, she replied “fantastic!” you could see the difference in the way Brenda was and her own personality shone through.
Brenda scored the following before…
Choice and Control 5
Health and Wellbeing 1
Personal Dignity 5
Quality of life 1
Brenda scored the following afterwards and ongoing…
Choice and Control 5
Health and Wellbeing 4
Personal Dignity 5
Quality of life 5
A true example on how the right package and support can impact on someone for the better and improve their overall quality of life.
