Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Hi. I have a bit of a problem. I am a home help for a couple with a lot of problems, she is bi polar and has not left her bed, apart from when i change the bedding weekly, for 2 years. She has had episodes before where she was in bed for 4 years. He is alcoholic, has had a heart attack and surgery and has great difficulty in walking and rarely leaves the house.

I am the only one that they, and the dogs, will allow into the house.

Recently the husbands leg/ankle was extremely swollen and his wife asked me to get him some diuretics, after doing a search on the internet I decided that it would not be a good idea for him to have them so refused to get them.

She has been on serequel tablets which a phsyciatrist, who she was seeing weekly prescibed, 2 years ago.

She has not seen a doctor since then but is still taking the tablets. After looking at the side effects and dangers of these particular tablets I have refused to go to the chemist for them.

She said she would take full responsibility but I have been told that, if someone who has not seen a doctor for a while dies, there will be an autopsy, and if any drugs taken have in any way caused, death, the person who supplied the drugs will be charged with manslaughter.

Anyone know the laws here regarding this subject?

Why not phone the Kolan/VIP med team and ask them. Or ask a doctor tha tyou know.

This place is so 'different' that one needs to get aruling form someone very involved in the medical profession. Or even ask the ministry for Health as to whether they have written guidelines tha tyou could see.

Hearsay can often be dangerous!

Hi Marions.

I never rely on hearsay.

Rather than take the risk, for my own sake as well as the people that I am helping, I have told them that I will not supply them with anything that could cause them harm.

It is a frustrating situation, I beg them to get professional help, ie register with VIP etc but they refuse point blank.

I have told them where I stand, I will continue to go in, keep the place clean, do the washing etc and make sure they are okay and that is it.

What more can I do?

I would say there is nothing else you can do until they run out of meds and realise the necesssity of seeing a doctor. As marions has suggested contact VIPmed/Kolan as soon as they agree to it.

If it helps, I would do as you are doing but definitely do not get involved in getting the drugs until a doctor has seen them.

Thanks for your support squashmad.

I will continue to go to them, I couldn't just abandon them, and hope to persuade them eventually to get registered with a Doctor.

I can but try.

It must be difficult for you Blue Butterfly. But as my dear old mum often said 'You have to be cruel to be kind'. It took me years to fathom what she meant! But you are right to question as you have. And it shows how caring you are that you are concerned with the bigger picture as well as for their needs whichthey see differently perhaps to the way you see it.

Do what you do well, and continue to care in the way you feel tha tyou should, and hopefully they will realize that medical matters need to be dealt with by the medical profession, and that they should not be putting you in a difficult situation because of your wanting to help them.

Some people can be verypersuasive, and it is not always in their best interests, or anyone else for that matter. So I gues s in this case, it is not so much being 'cruel' to bge kind, but certainly being 'firm' to be kind.

To misquote a series of films way back 'Carry on caring!'.