My friend, who is already caring for a bed ridden terminally ill husband has been having her own problems, her legs swelled to twice their normal size and investigation in to this revealed she is in desperate need of a double knee joint replacement.
I’ve already come and stopped over several times to help with his care when she was unable and she’s now has asked if i could move into her gite for a while and look after them both, Its not a major problem for me I’m retired, but will cost me quite a bit in petrol as I’ll need to return home regularly to feed my cats and I live about 25km away.
She’s offering to pay me, but I know she’s no longer working and eating into her savings already. I was wondering if there was any French equivalent of the carers allowance i might be eligible for?
The Husband is already on end of life care from HAD and has nurses and carers coming in twice a day so it’s just a case of attending to his other needs like food and washing and being there to call for help if anything happens
In a case such as this I would contact the local Assistante Social who can be found via the Mairie. They are trained in all sorts of social help and know who to find but to be honest, any payments would have to be made by the CAF and the people who are needing the care would most likely have to apply, not yourself. Hence the assistant social who can speak to the couple. The authorities here do not give out financial aid just like that, there are hoops to jump through and then decisions to be made
It would be her who applies and gets financial support, not you. There is a wide range of things available and I’ve given you the main link, which is in French. You can swap to English at the top, but the translations are weird - help to maintain autonomy ends up as ‘support for your battery’.
As Shiba has said the best is to get a meeting with the Assistant Social usually via your marie. The AS is the entry point for all sorts of useful things. Your friend will be eligible for support in addition to that of her husband.
But if you are not registered as a carer then you cannot be paid directly.
Good luck, sounds like you are being a good friend.
