Table 4 Six attenders’ typical weeks
Attender | Typical week |
|---|---|
Bob | Lives with adult child who frequently travels. Attends day centre twice a week. Goes food shopping twice a week with son or by bus. |
Dorothy | Lives with adult son. Attends day centre on 3 days. Goes by taxi to church fortnightly with son. Other son visits weekly for an hour. |
Kathleen | Lives alone in ‘extra care’ (supported living) block of flats. Attends day centre once weekly. Care worker helps with housework for 30 min every morning. Her two adult children each visit weekly (for 4 and 5 h); one delivers shopping and takes her out for a walk. Priest visits to give Holy Communion once weekly (30 min). Hairdresser visits weekly (1 h) and takes to supermarket for food shop fortnightly. |
Rosemary | Lives alone in ‘extra care’ facility. Attends day centre once weekly. Has regular GP visits on 1 day, after which she does food shopping and attends hospital appointments with voluntary organisation support worker who also does her paperwork (2.5 h) and eats lunch with her at her home. Attends weekly skills centre for visually-impaired to learn computer skills (4 h). Hairdresser visits an hour weekly. At weekends, visits her daughter for one whole day. She attends a monthly two-hour lunch club organised by the day centre provider. |
Thomasina | Lives alone. Attends day centre once weekly. Adult son visits once a week for 3 h. Cleaner comes weekly for 2 hours, does shopping and sometimes takes her out. |
Wilma | Lives with adult son and his family; both adults work full-time. Attends day centre once weekly. Attends another day centre once weekly. Privately organised care worker visits every morning (1.5 h), afternoon (30 min) and evening (1.5 h) to change her continence pads, prepare meals and get ready for bed. She also visits on the 5 days that Wilma is not at the day centre to change her pads and make lunch. A cleaner undertakes housework for an hour every week. One daughter visits half a day at the weekend. Another daughter/granddaughter visits for 3 h on the other weekend day. Every month, the local priest visits briefly to administer Holy Communion. |