caring at home

mo1_2

how do people manage when caring for someone at home,there dosent seem to be much help in the benefit systym

bexmark_2

Have you looked at applying for Carer's Allowance through the Department of Works and Pensions, or for Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance for the person you care for?
If in doubt, contact them or your local Citizens' Advice Bureau who may have a welfare advice office; if not, they should certainly be able to put you in the right direction.

Broken_hearted

Truthfully we don't in the end we run out of energy and money to fight for our rights. There are lots of things you should get but we never seem to manage. On a positive note if you have a disabled child or OAP there are lots of charities who can offer support and help.

mo1_2

i look after my dad who is 87,trying to juggle work as well as cant afford to give up work,and they only seem to give you 46.oo carers allowance,i must spent that on gas every week lol

LondonDiva

There are carers to do shopping / personal services and other intervention from social services & the NHS depending on what is actually needed / requested.

Have you asked for any help or information?

Carer's allowance
Disability Living Allowances
Attendance Allowance
Respite breaks
Home Modifications
Assessments from OTs and Physios

mo1_2

tried to get information from social services,but to be honest they wernt very helpful.you would have thought if it cost summat like 300.00 per week in a nursing home then it would cost something to give your job up,or is that me?

maryotuam

When my mother in law was alive we had to fight to get her the care she needed. The best thing we did was ask the social services to do her a "statement of need". They don't rush out to tell you about this but once she had one they were responsible for providing a package of care. This meant they provided 3 home helps a day and she had a shopper from Age Cocern. The Social Services also provided a device to help her use the bath. (It did take 18 mths to come through!).

As she got more frail they were prepared to offer 5 visits a day. This meant she was able to stay in her own home until two months before she died at 96.

She paid for a secondhand stairlift herself because it was vital but it was of enormous benefit. We were both working and had young kids but we visited her 3-4 times a week and she came for the day every Sunday.

I really miss her.

missk_ensington

I have recently applied to Direct Payments, which is money given to a disabled person for them to employ whoever they like to care for them. I wasn't aware of this until recently and have spent months paying for a live in au pair with my own money, luckily I know about it now.

I don't know how this works if family care for you?? Perhaps it would be better for you not to care for family, and opt for the Direct Paymnents to pay professional care??

Just a suggestion x

janeawej

as a carer social services have to give you a carers assessment of you own so ask for one of these, not a lot of help i have to say but may give you access to a carers support worker and a bit of advice about benefits, I look after my mum who is 83 and has advanced dementia i also work 16 plus hours a week, have had to cut down from fulltime in order to care for her and hav e 4 children, it is hard but I love mum and she wants to be at home with us, so keep up the good work, just a tip if someone has lost their mental capacity you dont have to pay council tax for them, this saves me £25 a month as I have single occupancy as mum is discounted, also free tv licence, 2 little things that would be over £35 a month for me, keep up the good work!

elantan

it's about £500 a week to keep someone in a care home ...but more than that for home care (hence why alot of elderly people get placed in them ) i have worked with families who have had to give up parental rights inorder to get help...i have worked with families that have walked out inorder to get help and i cant say i blame them ...social services seem to think that if they can hand over the responsibility to anyone then they will...i know they are overwhelmed....but so are the carers...i currently work as a support worker and have total sympathy for any carer

mo1_2

thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply,i think im looking for a solution that isnt there