Care Funding

[Subbuteo_171]

A family member has a lasting condition that has deteriorated recently meaning continuing to live at home now requires full time care.

Would appreciate any hints, tips, experiences around funding, as not sure whether it’s social care funding, continuing NHS funding or a combination of both we need to explore.

I understand the pressures both local councils and the NHS are facing, so any ideas on where to start and focus on first appreciated. At the moment DLA is being received but nothing above and beyond that - ideally continuing living at home with care in place would the best outcome.

TIA for any assistance.

 

[BoroBosco]

A family member has a lasting condition that has deteriorated recently meaning continuing to live at home now requires full time care.

Would appreciate any hints, tips, experiences around funding, as not sure whether it’s social care funding, continuing NHS funding or a combination of both we need to explore.

I understand the pressures both local councils and the NHS are facing, so any ideas on where to start and focus on first appreciated. At the moment DLA is being received but nothing above and beyond that - ideally continuing living at home with care in place would the best outcome.

TIA for any assistance.

I would suggest you contact your local Citizens Advice. They will be able to provide you with information on funding and tell you what benefits & assistance your relative is entitled to.

 

[Blf]

Contact social services and ask for a social worker to be appointed to help your family. My father in law h⁰ad dementia and the social worker was immense. Helped with finances and getting nursing care.

 

[Osboro]

Your loved ones needs should be assessed and addressed via social services. They will advise on the whole process.

Only once a care package has been arranged will your relatives " means" be assessed, and their ability to contribute worked out.

Only the recipient of care is liable for payment. Only their income and/ or assets count.

Try age concern for basic advice.

 

[Nottyboy]

It's very difficult to get NHS Continuing Care funding. There are half a dozen or more categories both physical and mental that the patient has to be assessed and scored on as to whether their need is low/medium/high etc. You need a high score in several categories to qualify overall. It's a high bar. Its a complex area and I would say you have very limited chance of getting it if you don't get specialist help to make a claim. That is unless your relative is so bad that they have been given only months to live.

When I say specialist help I mean firms that offer this service. A community nurse or health practitioner of some sort will not have enough experience or time to be able to argue your case against an assessor even though they may offer to help . This obviously costs to get expert help. I speak from experience. We were initially able able to get NHS Continuing Care for about 15 months for my mother but had to pay a firm about 2.5K to help. They were very thorough they went through years worth of my Mum's medical records. Their letter that went to the authorities as part of the claim detailing why they believed she qualified for NHS funding was 105 pages. There is a preliminary assessment to determine even if your claim can go forward to an actual full assessment if you don't get past the preliminary assessment that's the end of your claim. We had an advocate from the firm at both the preliminary and full assessment. We were successful but only because of the expert help and I think we had a sympathetic assessor as well. Otherwise we would not have succeeded.

They were supposed to do a reassessment after 3 months but luckily for us they didn't do one for 15 months. We weren't able to afford to employ a specialist again so only had the workers in the Care Home to help support us (at the time of the initial assessment my Mum was still living at home). We failed to achieve a high enough score this time and the funding was withdrawn. This despite the fact that my Mum had Dementia, Parkinson's, Heart failure, Kidney and Lung problems and was bedridden and unable to turn over or sit up under her own strength following a broken hip. She wasn't even able to lift a normal tea cup or feed herself. She basically just laid on her back day after day - a horrible existence.

Overall it was worth the 2.5k to get the funding for 15 months as the cost of care was over £900 per week but it was a gamble and I think we were fortunate to get it the first time.

After that it was down to funding through the Local Authority but my Mum had to pay about £1000 a month from her own resources as it's means tested. Have to say that the local Social Services (Nottingham) were not that good/helpful. My Mum passed away about 3 months after the NHS funding was ended.

You have my sympathies and best wishes it's not an easy situation to be in.

 

[Subbuteo_171]

Thanks all, meeting scheduled with social worker shortly.

 

[Redwurzel]

If your relative has assets over £23,500 and they can't get NHS continuing care, the will have to pay for their own care. Assets include a property. Some authorities like R & C on Teesside will allow deferred payment against the relatives property. So the property does not have to be sold until death of the relative. If the relative is permanently living in the property the property does not count as asset.

So sorry to read this from NottyBoy

This despite the fact that my Mum had Dementia, Parkinson's, Heart failure, Kidney and Lung problems and was bedridden and unable to turn over or sit up under her own strength following a broken hip. She wasn't even able to lift a normal tea cup or feed herself. She basically just laid on her back day after day - a horrible existence.

So she was just breathing not living, but judged not worth of any NHS care. What a country.

 

[Nobby_Barnes]

If your relative has assets over £23,500 and they can't get NHS continuing care, the will have to pay for their own care. Assets include a property. Some authorities like R & C on Teesside will allow deferred payment against the relatives property. So the property does not have to be sold until death of the relative. If the relative is permanently living in the property the property does not count as asset.

So sorry to read this from NottyBoy

This despite the fact that my Mum had Dementia, Parkinson's, Heart failure, Kidney and Lung problems and was bedridden and unable to turn over or sit up under her own strength following a broken hip. She wasn't even able to lift a normal tea cup or feed herself. She basically just laid on her back day after day - a horrible existence.

So she was just breathing not living, but judged not worth of any NHS care. What a country.

I read it as she was worthy of NHS care she just had to pay for it ?

 

[Nottyboy]

I read it as she was worthy of NHS care she just had to pay for it ?

No she was considered not severe enough for NHS Continuing Care. If you qualify for NHS Continuing Care then the NHS pay in full for the care whether it's at home or in a Nursing home. If you don't then the Local Authority pay for it but it's means tested so if you have assets above £23,500 you have to pay towards it. How much and how long for depends on the total value of your assets. and how long it takes to deplete them to the point that you don't have to pay anymore. If people own their own houses then it's likely they have considerably more than £23,500.

 

[weemoby]

I don't have any suitable advice Subbuteo, but I am sending you best wishes and the same to the rest of you that have been in a similar situation.

 

[Omega]

Disgraceful you work all your life and buy a house pay tax and national insurance.Then when you are old and body broken from working on average 60 hour weeks. They want to take your house of you.

 

[Glover_elbow]

Contact social services and ask for a social worker to be appointed to help your family. My father in law h⁰ad dementia and the social worker was immense. Helped with finances and getting nursing care.

Absolutely 100 percent best advice social worker will help to fill in long winded forms attendance allowance and arrange care packages. The social worker from SBC we had for my mum was first class and helped with everything

 

[Redwurzel]

Social services will do an assessment for needs and help find a carer/agency. They don't do the financial assessment, but another department in the council will do that.

Obviously social services is more and more stretched, they are helpful but will not do everything.

To repeat a property the relative is living in is not an asset if they stay in it.

Politically Boris Johnson was pushing for a upper limited on the amount of care to be paid for privately I think it was £80k in a life time, but that has not being put in the long grass.