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[Varche]

This can't be an unusual situation.

Uncle in Law has been discharged from hospital, lives on his own, no family near or likely to ever visit. His daily needs are catered for with carer visits but periodically he will have to pay cash for things like visiting hairdresser. So the question is how do housebound people in this situation get cash? Is there a facility to have say £50 a month sent to your home via registered post from your bank?

Anyone have any experience of this problem.?

[Gaffers]

I have heard of places where you pay for a coupon that gets printed out and you can exchange that for cash in certain shops.  Use a lot in places where there is no cash machine.

[MR MISTER]

In cases such as these, the nephew-in-law usually helps out.

[Sir Tigger KC]

In this case the nephew in law can only send worthless coupons. They're called euros!!   

[pscocoa]

I pay money into the carers account on receipt of text from her as to what she has bought/ paid out for my mum. I use private carer for my mum as a visitor to see what my mum needs as she is 200 miles plus from me and I sort have a cross check on what care home is doing. My mum has all her mental faculties so this system works well.

[dbug]

Cheque not cash?

[pscocoa]

Cheque not cash?

Not sure what you mean - issue seems to be how to get cash to the pensioner. I have power of attorney and so have set up accounts for all those that provide services or cash to my mum so I transfer money from my mum's account. Appreciate not easy to advise without all detail but the system is pretty good if you have people you trust.

[dbug]

Cheque not cash?

Not sure what you mean - issue seems to be how to get cash to the pensioner. I have power of attorney and so have set up accounts for all those that provide services or cash to my mum so I transfer money from my mum's account. Appreciate not easy to advise without all detail but the system is pretty good if you have people you trust.

Meant if he has to pay for haircut (visiting hairdresser), surely option to pay by cheque rather than cash

I also have power of attorney for my mother - she keeps very little cash in the house, all bills are DD, other costs (gardener, cleaner etc), she pays for by cheque.

[pscocoa]

Ok understood - my mother's eyesight is bad (diabetes related) so cheques not really an option plus no chance of manipulation by others for her to write a cheque by deception

[Broomies Mate]

I have no personal experience, but wouldn't a call or letter to your Uncle-In-Law's Doctor be the first port of call?  They would surely have experience in dealing with these issues and would know their patient and the patients needs. 

I'm not casting judgement on anyone here, but it's a very sad time when a person is alone without personal contact from family/friends.   

[Vamps]

Carer could go and cash in his pension to give him cash......

But in this modern world how about paying via PayPal, even if you have to do it for him, can be done from anywhere.......

[omegod]

Sad situation , I can only think of prepaying all of his usual haunts such as barber, newsagent and publican a hundred quid or so with direction to contact you when top ups are needed 

[Varche]

Carer could go and cash in his pension to give him cash......

But in this modern world how about paying via PayPal, even if you have to do it for him, can be done from anywhere.......

Might not come to any of this. The whole saga has been one of immense frustration and sadness. For 91 years he has not been a burden to anyone. He fought heroically on many famous front lines and avoided death inumerable times during the second world war and now he has been passed from pillar to post without joined up care and attention from the whole health service and from social services. Mrs V has been tearing her hair out for the last three weeks.

Just one example.
 It took three days to discharge him from hospital. No one seemed to know what was going on and when. On the second day , having waited all day yet again,  Mrs V was advised he will be leaving hospital at 7a.m. on day3 She is there at his house waiting. He arrives at gone 1p.m. dispensary couldn't dispense his drugs.......
Social services are ...... No named point of contact. Never speak to the same person twice. The whole story has to be told each and every time. No one can advise what can be done only what they cannot do. You are speaking to the wrong person, I'll get the right person to ring you. When will that be? I don't know, I don't run their diary. Two organisations designed not for customers but for themselves.

Own GP? They visited in the end, rightly prescribed painkillers for disintegrated vertebrae but the guy had no understanding of what had been prescribed and no way of getting them.

Anyway his medical condition and state of mind will probably shortly rule out living at home. We will see in the coming days.

Thanks for the suggestions re money, cheques,Paypal.. We could order food,consumables to be delivered weekly from Asda from Spain.

I read that in the UK more than 50% of folk over 75 years of age now live alone.  I bet there are other people in the same boat.

<sadness off>

[dbdb]

Buy a cheap hotel type safe for about £25 and once or twice a year top it up with cash.  Or even one of those 'safes' that looks like a tin of beans or a book.  You'll lose 0.5% interest on the cash mind 

[pscocoa]

Varche  - I have dealt with the situation you have for some time now along the lines I described. The NHS and Social Services failings have to be addressed and in our case we paid private carers less than we would have paid to approved agency - carers happy to do it as they were better off and my dad had same faces there every day 4 times a day.On Thursday one of them was there for 2 hours to clean and receive weekly shop from Sainsbury which we ordered on line from 200 miles away.

I am about to meet with some NHS people following Keogh report as I think my observations on some of the failings I encountered with my parents treatment are worthy of investigation particularly bullying people to be discharged when they were not fit. They were trying to discharge my mother to family home - I kicked off and demanded another X-ray which revealed broken hip.

Enough said.