Caring for Penny

Caroline Fisher advises anyone looking for home care support for a loved one to shop around and then watch them in action, which is exactly what she did when engaging the services of Caremark Bromley.

She turned to Caremark Bromley for help when her mum, Penny, came out of hospital following a fall.

“It’s a tough time when you realise your mum needs care support, a big step to let someone into their home,” says Caroline. “I would say watch how they interact with your relative, do they treat them as a person, involve them in the conversation and not just talk over them.”

Caroline says her mum’s health started to deteriorate when her husband, Roy, died unexpectedly following the onset of aggressive cancer.

The couple had been married for over 40 years and had two children, Caroline and brother Daniel, and three grandchildren.

“They were extremely close and loving,” says Caroline. “Mum was devastated at the loss and has never really recovered. She went into a downward spiral and was hospitalised a number of times through falls and suffers from dementia.”

Caremark have been visiting Penny, 76, four times a day for the past two years helping with washing, dressing and other domestic tasks. Caroline has been happy with the service, singling out one carer in particular for praise.

“She is incredible and goes over and above, to be a carer you need to care and she does,” says Caroline. “It’s lovely to see the way she talks with mum and helps her. They get on so well they even exchanged Christmas gifts. If there is anything goes wrong, I know she will sort it for me.”