Will Social services pay for shower for aged father?

[Deleted User]

My Dad is 75 and lives on his own. Hes partially sited, cant walk far with the aid of a stick (hes had two knee replacements and hip replacement).

Hes got a bath at home but no shower but has great difficulty getting in and out of the bath.

I think hes spoken to Social Services before about getting a shower fitted but nothing has ever happened.

Just wondered if anyone knows anything about this and whether I'd be able to phone anyone on his behalf?

He has some savings (not a huge amount) so would that preclude him from getting the work done?

meer53

I managed to get this done for my MIL but it took about 18 months ! Call social services and nag them weekly, they have to make an assessment, they'll visit and ask lots of questions ! They took out my MIL's bath and fitted a walk in shower cubicle, they retiled the walls and fitted non slip vinyl flooring. My MIL has about £5000 in a Halifax account, not sure whether they ask about this or not. She hates it as it's very utilitarian, they type you get in nursing homes but as she couldn't get in the bath it's much better for her.

anguk

We had a stair lift put in for my husband. I don't know if all local authorities are the same but I rang our council's Social Care Direct Team, they asked me a few questions to see if my husband would qualify and then arranged for an occupational therapist to come out to the house and assess his needs. The occupational therapist then filled out the forms for a Disabled Facilities Grant, if I remember correctly it was means tested because they asked about benefits that my husband received.

There's details about the Disabled Facilities Grant here, I've had a quick look and it is means tested but the first £6,000 of savings is disregarded.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/HomeAndHousingOptions/YourHome/DG_4000642

I noticed your signature so I've added this link too if your Dad lives in Wales:
http://www.careandrepair.org.uk/

[Deleted User]

meer53 wrote: »

I managed to get this done for my MIL but it took about 18 months ! Call social services and nag them weekly, they have to make an assessment, they'll visit and ask lots of questions ! They took out my MIL's bath and fitted a walk in shower cubicle, they retiled the walls and fitted non slip vinyl flooring. My MIL has about £5000 in a Halifax account, not sure whether they ask about this or not. She hates it as it's very utilitarian, they type you get in nursing homes but as she couldn't get in the bath it's much better for her.

Hmmm. Yeh, they've been around for an assessment before and sort of told him hes not bad enough !!! LOL. Not sure how bad you have to be.

Knowing my Dad though he probably made out hes better than he is - he tends to overcompensate so that no one thinks hes scrounging or making it up...

Oldernotwiser

If your father has savings and needs a shower fitted now, he'd be better to use them and get the work done quickly. Replacing a bath with a shower is a relatively simple job and need only cost a few hundred pounds.

Mojisola

[quote=[Deleted User];42952620]Hmmm. Yeh, they've been around for an assessment before and sort of told him hes not bad enough !!! LOL. Not sure how bad you have to be.

Knowing my Dad though he probably made out hes better than he is - he tends to overcompensate so that no one thinks hes scrounging or making it up...[/QUOTE]

Try to get another assessment and be there yourself. Older people often do minimise their problems - it can help to have someone else there who will expand on them.

There are lots of interim things that could help him which could be provided immediately - bath boards, swivel seats and grab rails.

2sides2everystory

I agree with the answers given so far as possibilities and I think whilst faffing with bathboards and the like might not be means tested (and could take weeks to deliver and then more weeks to fit) a replacement of bath by the Local Authority Adult Care Team with a shower is almost certainly a means-tested exercise. I think if it is ever considered outside of means testing it might probably be installed at the time of greatest need e.g. if he has his second hip done and is expected to be heavily immobilised for another few weeks when he comes out of hospital.

There's another angle on all this (expense wise) if your father is hesitant about eating into his savings ... has your father claimed for "Attendance Allowance" which is non-means tested ?

It probably involves an assessment again by same team as last time but could easily qualify him for £50 a week to spend as he wishes, and if he is assessed at the second level of immobility it could be allowed at the higher rate which I think is over £70pw. None of this requires him to spend the allowance on a carer or an "attendant". It would just start appearing in his bank account like it was an additional pension. I am not sure if it is taxable but I think the personal allowance is probably high enough now to keep most pensioners out of tax anyway, whether or not they have modest savings?

Agree about the "minimising" comments old people make about how well they cope. It is admirable that they view life that way, but the benefits system may well discriminate against them if they express themselves in such terms in native language compared to other old people who might have things "translated" in their favour by an intermediary.

Make sure you are there to aid the translation

Attendance Allowance could be used to fund the shower installation / replenish the savings and once it starts for a senior citizen as far as I know it is not reviewed.

[Deleted User]

Yeh. Thing is he doesnt mind paying for it himself if needs be.

My thing is though hes paid tax all his working life and if he needs to claim benefts now then why not. Trouble is its convincing him hes not 'scrounging' by doing this....

nannytone_2

my mum is the same. she has rhematoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and wont claim AA as she says my dad looks after her

KxMx

Nan and Grandad been waiting over 3 years now for a new wet room, so if he could pay himself would be much, much easier.
At least the ramps outside have got to the final visit before work commencing.... Xmas 2010!

margaretclare

[quote=[Deleted User];43000608]Yeh. Thing is he doesnt mind paying for it himself if needs be.

My thing is though hes paid tax all his working life and if he needs to claim benefts now then why not. Trouble is its convincing him hes not 'scrounging' by doing this....[/QUOTE]

For heaven's sake. I don't believe some people.

If he needs it, he needs it. I can vouch for the fact that he DOES need it. DH and I some years ago now had the bath ripped out and a shower cubicle installed. We did this because of his knees and my hips. Climbing in and out of a bath is not just inconvenient, it is downright dangerous. And your Dad lives on his own - who's going to rescue him when he slips in the bath or getting in/out and does himself some serious damage?

A couple of years ago I had the existing shower cubicle ripped out and a more modern one installed with a low step-in - this was because DH was in hospital about to come home with a stiff leg. We got no joy whatsoever from the OT/rehab/physio people. I was told that 'a shower isn't necessary - all that he needs is a daily strip-wash in the basin'. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Certainly, although he was in hospital with shower facilities, hoists, you name it, in 4 weeks he never got a shower at all. Once he was home, with our lower step-in, we resorted to large black bin-bags to keep his leg dry. I've been told many times 'you could have got it done from Social Services'. Really? When the OT/rehab insisted he could get by for the rest of his life with a daily wash at the basin. No way.

If Dad is willing to spend his savings on this then that's what he should do. It will be money well spent. And don't give me that cr*p about paid taxes all his life. DH and I have paid taxes all our working lives, 16 to 67, total nearly a century between us and guess what, we're still taxpayers and will be until we die.

Attendance Allowance would be a really good idea - get him to apply. But also, get him to ask for help to fill in the form. AgeUK, DIAL, CAB benefits adviser, he's more likely to get it if the right wording is used.

PS: If he gets AA it is non-taxable and non-means-testable, which makes it very very useful.