My uncle is 90 years old he recently had a fall which has left him pretty shakey and unstable on his feet. The OT at the hospital said that he's fine and will not need any support at home i.e. home help service. because he could walk 10 yards on the corridor and seemed fine. But he is not fine and needs help. His neice has helped for many years now i.e. cooking washing etc but she is elderly herself and is finding it difficult to carry on with this. He lives in chesterfield so its a long way to travel everyday to help him.
Does anyone have any advice what i need to do in order to get some help.
At 90 years of age, its sad when he cant get help to maintain his independance at home. Im sure nursing care would cost the state much more :confused:

I would suggest he talks to his GP and asks for an assessment of his needs, and probably his niece should do the same. My grandfather was 96 and struggling on his own till my cousin camped on the social work department's doorstep to get him assessed. He got lots of help and when he was frailer went to an old peoples home for the last year of his life.

GPs are usually very helpful but need to be told when the info they've received from an allied health professional (like an OT) is no longer correct. People fluctuate all the time in terms of how they cope at home and you need to plan for the worst you've seen him while hoping for the best - maybe the OT saw him at his best (in a very supportive environment, on a flat corridor, where he'd spent lots of time resting with no other demands on his energy). Home environments are very different to the hospital, and it's only when someone's home that you can truly work out how someone is. Hope it works out and that his confidence increases again. If you think you know what he needs push for it. Sometime it's a case of he who shouts the loudest.

After an assessment, get copies of any reports written back to the GP. If he is entitled to any benefits (i.e. attendance allowance, carer's allowance) it's a lot easier having written evidence.

GPs are usually very helpful but need to be told when the info they've received from an allied health professional (like an OT) is no longer correct. People fluctuate all the time in terms of how they cope at home and you need to plan for the worst you've seen him while hoping for the best - maybe the OT saw him at his best (in a very supportive environment, on a flat corridor, where he'd spent lots of time resting with no other demands on his energy). Home environments are very different to the hospital, and it's only when someone's home that you can truly work out how someone is. Hope it works out and that his confidence increases again. If you think you know what he needs push for it. Sometime it's a case of he who shouts the loudest.

After an assessment, get copies of any reports written back to the GP. If he is entitled to any benefits (i.e. attendance allowance, carer's allowance) it's a lot easier having written evidence.

Agreed, but just as a quick note (as the OP's probably confused enough as it is), he can't claim Carer's Allowance for himself. That's for someone who is doing the caring, and is also means-tested.

The carer can only get Carer's Allowance if Attendance Allowance is awarded to the OP's uncle.