Obviously it is not possible to describe all the services that each social service department has to offer. Most are common to all areas but some services are ventures with voluntary groups and hence are only available in certain places. An increasingly important function available in some areas is that of a sitting service. This allows a carer to go out for a few hours and have time to themselves while someone sits in with the frail or confused old person. This can be a regular break or a one-off service. In some areas it is also developing into a night sitting service so that on some nights a carer can get an undisturbed night’s sleep while the sitter copes with the sufferer’s needs. The benefits are obvious, but there are a few drawbacks. The sitters all undergo some training (the most obvious requirement is an excess of commonsense) but occasionally the elderly person doesn’t take to a stranger – a rapport has to be built up.
Telephones often form the lifeline between an elderly person and their carers and services. It is another indictment of our system that not all elderly people that need them are provided with a telephone. Increasingly the telephone is being utilized as part of an alarm system. The person carries a pendant and in times of emergency this is activated and an alarm registers in a central control room. This central area tries to ring the home (in case of accidental triggering or in the not too infrequent cases where the person wants to talk because of loneliness) but if there is no reply a car and two helpers are dispatched to the person’s address to take appropriate action. The peace of mind this system can give is incalculable, and yet for many there are years of waiting even to get the telephone if they need social services to pay for it.
Help in the home can be very practical as well. Community occupational therapists working from social services provide the home assessment service where aids and adaptations are needed. In cases of disability and frailty they will come and assess the person at home and provide for the changes to be made. This may include blocking up chairs to make them easier to get out of, to the provision of a new purpose-built bathroom for the disabled. They will ensure that a person’s existing functions are used to the full and help them cope with new problems. If there is not just frailty but disability as well they will liaise with the disabled advisory service (again, present in most social services) for even more expert help.
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