Typical care home costs

artha

My father in law is suffering from the early stages of dementia but is still in his own home with paid care 3 times a day and family support. There has been a rapid deterioration in recent months and he may have to go into a care home. Ive looked at various sites including .gov but can't find out what typical costs are for care for dementia sufferers. At this moment I'm not looking at what benefits are available to offset costs as I think he will have to be self funded (living alone, owns home, total pension of ca 22k and savings of about 30k). Can anyone help?

Savvy_Sue

I think 'typical' varies very widely, especially from one area to another.

However, if his dementia is sufficiently severe, he may be entitled to have it all paid for anyway. I'll head off and find some useful posts in a tick.

Having said that, you will get more choice if you're not reliant on it all being paid for, so you might be able to choose your home and top up if it's more than state funding covers.

OK, this thread is long and comprehensive, even if it doesn't start with dementia.

This one is short and sweet but gives a basic overview of 'the system'.

This one starts with dementia and funding specifically for that.

There's more, but that should give you a good starting point.

artha

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think 'typical' varies very widely, especially from one area to another.

I was just looking to see an order of magnitude i.e is it £500/mth or £500/week for example

However, if his dementia is sufficiently severe, he may be entitled to have it all paid for anyway. I'll head off and find some useful posts in a tick.

This is something new to me. How can someone have all of their costs paid for if they are suffereing from dementia as opposed to someone who is so physically weak and frail that they need the same care but not in a hospital

Mojisola

Browse this site - https://www.carehome.co.uk/ - and you'll start to get an idea of what's available.

As Sue says, you need to gen up on dementia and care homes. He may not have to pay but, unless you push for it, a free place won't be offered.

Savvy_Sue

artha wrote: »

I was just looking to see an order of magnitude i.e is it £500/mth or £500/week for example

For a 'good' home with dementia care, the latter, from looking at the other threads.

fredsnail

My Grandfather has dementia and is in a residential home - he's paying £400 per week.

However if he deteriorates considerably (as in needs medical treatment rather than assistance with day to day things like hygiene etc) he will have to go into a nursing home at which point we'll be pushing for a paid for placement - but that will cost more than what he's currently paying.

The best thing maybe to get him assessed to see what level of care and what type of care he will require.

Good luck

fs

Torry_Quine

Some of you seem to have really low costs for care home fees. My relative was paying over £700 a week in 2005 so if she wasn't being partially funded by the local authority it would be a lot more now. She doesn't have dementia.

roddydogs

Over £22000 saving-no help you have to pay the whole cost-in the South typically £500-£750 per WEEK.
"help the Aged" website has some inf.

soolin

My father is in a residential home and pays around £2400 a month excluding extra like hair cutting, chiropody etc. We are within the M25. If he ever needs to move to a nursing home, and I pray daily that he doesn't, then the cheapest locally is £800 a week.

Errata

artha wrote: »

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I was just looking to see an order of magnitude i.e is it £500/mth or £500/week for example


This is something new to me. How can someone have all of their costs paid for if they are suffereing from dementia as opposed to someone who is so physically weak and frail that they need the same care but not in a hospital

If there's an Age Concern near you chances are they will have an Information Officer who'll be able to give you an idea of what fees homes are charging in your - or your FIL's - area.

Funding for dementia only is almost impossible as prompting and encouragement will be needed rather than hands on nursing, until the dementia reaches the point when someone is almost totally immobile, completely unable to communicate and can do nothing for themselves. Even then obtaining funding is a battle.
Your FIL, should he need to go into residential care, may be entitled to the higher rate of Attendance Allowance which is around £3k a year and not means tested.
HTH

EdInvestor

Some useful overall info on paying for care:

https://www.hsbcpensions.co.uk/nhfa/pdfs/is6.pdf

Look at "immediate needs annuities" - depending on his age, you may find that spending a part of the house proceeds/his savings on one of these (tax free) products will be the best way forward. Several examples given in the link.

Make sure you get quotes from all 4 providers as they can vary enormously.

The regulator has reports on all the care homes:

http://www.csci.org.uk/

Some, not all, of the homes give a range of prices - I looked up one dementia specialist small home in the southeast and its range was 350-450 per week. The higher price includes a single room with en suite bathroom. But that's definitely at the cheap end.on the other hand he has a biggish pension which will pay most of the cost, so you won't need that much of a top-up.