Ageing dad mobility

Traceym12

My dad is 76 years old over the last year it has become very difficult for him and us trying to care for him , he has a long list of medical issues including severe arthritis of the back , hips and hands , copd , bronchial asthma , glaucoma, cataracts also urinary incontinence , his mobility has drastically reduced and he cant even walk more than 15 steps with him being breathless and in severe pain , currently he is using 2 walking sticks his OT us now concerned his wrist might give way and he could fall , they advises us to apply for primary medical cert as my car is small and getting him in or out is a nightmare , someone else told me he wont get it i dont want to put him through any stress of applying if he wont get it , any advice anyone ?

Atlantic Dawn

Would a mobility scooter be an option, would give him a degree of independence? Think they are circa €2-3k

niallb

Hi @Traceym12
Sorry to hear about how hard it's got.

My own dad is 87 now and lives with us.
He moved in four years ago as my mum has advanced dementia and it was easier to manage this way.
Mum went into care in September, and luckily dad is still in pretty good shape, but the last few years have been intense.

All I can say to you is that if you don't apply for something you definitely won't get it.
Have you had a bad experience applying for something else like carer's allowance or carer's respite grant?

Has your OT organised a visit from a public health nurse, or are you already in contact for other reasons?
They should be able to give you a well informed idea of whether an application would be succesful at this time.
It will need to be a very specific "someone else" to be listening to otherwise.

Traceym12

niallb wrote: »

Hi @Traceym12
Sorry to hear about how hard it's got.

My own dad is 87 now and lives with us.
He moved in four years ago as my mum has advanced dementia and it was easier to manage this way.
Mum went into care in September, and luckily dad is still in pretty good shape, but the last few years have been intense.

All I can say to you is that if you don't apply for something you definitely won't get it.
Have you had a bad experience applying for something else like carer's allowance or carer's respite grant?

Has your OT organised a visit from a public health nurse, or are you already in contact for other reasons?
They should be able to give you a well informed idea of whether an application would be succesful at this time.
It will need to be a very specific "someone else" to be listening to otherwise.

Hi my dads gp says he really needs it and the hse OT said she would support an application, as he cant walk more than 15 steps with his legs getting weak and he is breathless also he is in terrible pain ,so sorry to hear about your mum i lost my own mum to alzheimer's 5 yrs ago so i know how hard it is

Traceym12

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Would a mobility scooter be an option, would give him a degree of independence? Think they are circa €2-3k

Hi i dont think so as getting on and off would be a problem and also there has to be someone with him at all times now as he is a falling risk due to a completely arthritic hip and arthritis in most of his bones

lulu1

I think the best option is a wheelchair, You probably would get the PMC but with all your dad's health problems god forbid anything should happen when you would only be a few in. Then you would end up paying a percentage of the money back to the HSE