Wife/Carer going into hospital - what to do ?

If you Wife is registered as your primary carer, then the GP/Hospital can arrange for a Carer/PA to come and assist you a couple times a day for the time your wife is in hospital.

Else your Local Hospital may have a commissioned service such as the Red Cross that do a Check in service and can arrange to visit and help coordinate things like getting help etc… assuming of course that is what you would like.

Should your mobility be an issue to and from the hospital. Assuming you can transfer to a wheelchair, a number of Councils have contacts with regards to Charity based community transport schemes or a Wheelchair Taxi's could be arranged. Once there a Porter or even a volunteer will likely be around to assist getting you to her bedside.

Unfortunately speaking on the Phone, is somewhat of a necessity, perhaps you have friends or family that could assist at least with booking transport? or speaking to whomever?

This of course all assumes that you have some mobility. If not and your bedbound, there are alternatives, such as a Respite facility or Nursing Home as temporary measure whilst your Wife recovers and a Package of care can be arranged for when you and your wife is at home, so some of the pressure has been taken off her.

@Wibbles have you considered now might be a good time to set up a plan for a future situation where your wife can't take care of you? It sounds like it would be easier for her to set it up now, rather than when she's incapacitated and you're alone.

You have received extensive advice on the subject in the past from quite a few people here & elsewhere.

If indeed you have already received extensive advice on this subject as @Kimi87 says, perhaps the best answer to your question now as to "Where do I start?" could be to answer the question "Why don't I start?"

I know. That's my point. It's not a simple question. But for me it was the key question in finally starting to set up my emergency plans. Perhaps it's a good question for you too? Or maybe not. It's just a suggestion as to where to start.

It's not really about the money in my case. I honestly have no idea who I could ask to get me a bag of food shopping or launder my bedding, let alone someone to clean up undesirable 'spills' on the floor. I was basically told by my LA that they only help people prep a basic meal and wash/dress. Was told I'd have to seek private help for anything else and should post an advert myself, but that seems incredibly dangerous, especially since I can't speak, and not knowing anything about the background or qualifications of anyone who would apply. As I said before, I'm just hoping to go before my situation gets any worse as I can't see any realistic way of accessing the type of help that I need, even with plenty of savings.

Even deliveries don't work when you can't get to the door to sign for them. (At least not where I live). I've got signs up outside and even tried contacting couriers etc online but still so many items end up getting sent miles away to a post office or just returned to sender. I did try two different supermarket deliveries but neither were successful so I'm now reliant on just one older relative to get my shopping.

I'm not totally immobile fortunately but live with frequent vertigo so can't predict exactly when I'll be able to walk around the flat, let alone being able to get up and down the stairs outside.