Advice direct payments and others

Moody_Mare

Looking for some advice here,sorry if it's a long post. Grandfather is still in hospital has been for 3 months due to rapid cognitive deteriation and weight loss (93). He has been assesed for direct payments and I was assured he would recieve care and nursing element. I now have a meeting with them only to find he is only entiteld to the care element about £150 per week. He would only be entiteld to the nursing element if he was in a nursing home? I thought direct payments were only for care at home? Although his mind is mostly gone the one thing he wants is to go home, I have also been looking at fully funded NHS care but I have been told he is no where near eligable, thats when they admitted their was such an option.

I do not understand this they refuse to let him come home to me as he requires 24/7 supervision for his safety. He needs help with all cooking, washing, cleanliness, toileting, infact everything he cannot even change channels on the TV or as he now calls it the box pictures come from. He is on medication for his heart which has to be given to him and watched that he does take it. He also has mobility problems due to old age and arthritis but no definitive diagnosis re lack of cognitive process, he just wants to live in the past and confusion is rife in his mind. One minute he is cheery the next he will burst into tears as he does not understand and just wants to do away with himself.

So where do I stand, he does not require nursing by direct payments unless we go against his written wishes and put him in a care home, even though live in agency would be supplying qualified nurse (foreign workforce but trained to UK standards) I do not understand how he would be eligable but only if not in his own home? Does anyone think I have a case with fully funded NHS care? Going by their assesment he requires 24/7 care for everything, we are in Scotland in case their are major differances. Any advice infro
would help as the meeting with direct payments is next week and the way it is going with now even more shortfalls in direct payments we will have no choice but to place him in a care home as will not be able to afford 24 home care as demanded by NHS. In care home he would self fund but only asset is house worth about £50,000 as requires a lot of work.

sleepless_saver

It's a minefield, and I can't offer much advice except that I think you may be talking about free personal and nursing care rather than direct payments.

You could have a look at the very good Age Scotland factsheets on their website - especially the ones numbered 37s onwards which deal with exactly these issues, and give their Scottish Helpline for Older People (working hours only) service a phone for advice 0845 125 9732.

Not what you asked about, but does someone have power of attorney for him? It can make life a lot simpler for everyone. Welfare power of attorney is particularly useful where you know what he would want, as it gives you the authority to push for it.