I hope someone may have some experience in this matter. I'll give you the short story:

- Legally blind and deaf mother (DH's grandmother) has a stroke; she has loss the use of her left side, and can only eat baby food. She is still in hospital recovering from her recent stroke.
- DH's grandmother has 6 children, two are interstate, two rarely show any interest, one has power of attorney and acts as a carer and one son (aged 45) still lives at home with his mum.
- DH's grandmother does not want to go to a nursing home and really wants to go home.
- The son that still lives under the same roof as his mum, is quite immature and has virtually treated his mum like a slave (eg up until having her stroke, she still cooked his dinner every night, washed his clothes, made his bed, whilst blind and deaf). However he has rapidly become protective of his mum and wants to become her carer. He is known to be quite aggressive and no one in the family (myself and DH included)wouldn't put it past him that in frustration he could potentially hurt his mum.
- The family are concerned about his ability to care for his mother, as historically they have always fought like cats and dogs (quite harshly too, not violent though). He has previously blown up a garbage bin with fireworks to prove a point to his exBIL!!!
- There is further concern that if he did act as a carer for his mother, that he'd stop the rest of the family from contacting his mother to get back at the family for wanting to put their Mum in an aged care facility.
- The sibling that has Power of Attorney initially also wanted her mum to go into an aged care facility, but for some reason she has changed her mind, which has caused further rift in the family.

Did ya get all that?

So - currently DH's grandmother is sitting in a hospital room, and tomorrow the hospital will commence a mini carers assessment on her 'SAHS' to see if he'd make a suitable carer. I've never heard of this before. Anyone???

Can a hospital refuse to discharge a patient who wants to return home if it would not be in their best interests?

From the research I've done, all I can find that if DH's grandmother, is assessed as being of 'sound mind' then she can make up her mind as to where she goes....any advances on that???

Choccie frogs if you got thru all that!!!

x