60 year old widow needs some advice to survive

Torry_Quine

SandraScarlett wrote: »

Hi, I stand corrected, if that is the case, but I understood nursing care for the elderly was free in Scotland. Has this changed recently? And what do you mean by "no drop in centres here either" - what are these centres?

xx

I understand that as well as going to your GP in England you can go to a drop in centre, these don't exist here at all.

SandraScarlett wrote: »

This is what I just found on the Scottish Government web site. Sorry I haven't provided a linky thing - but I can't do that!

"Free Personal and Nursing Care in Scotland

Personal care is available without charge for everyone in Scotland aged 65 and over who have been assessed by the local authority as needing it.

Free nursing care is available for people of any age".

Where is the charge?

xx

The term 'free' nursing care is not what it seems. If in a care home you get a small amount for the care but personal care and so-called hotel charges are still made. Care fees are several hundred pounds per week and no Attendance Allowance is payable. When your savings drop as in England the majority of your pension is paid to the home.

princessdon

We have "walk in centres" where a GP is based (you don't have to be registered with that surgery). A long (ish) wait - but less than A&E and worth their weight in gold if you have children like mine who need a few stiches every now and then.

Can I say I hate 5 hour wait in A&E to give 5 - 10 stitches - so I am 100% grateful for our walk in. They also give anti-biotics and other drugs when you need to. Fantastic and should be everywhere.

helpfulperson

Don't forget that if you do start working you could lose some of your Housing and Council Tax Benefit

SandraScarlett

Torry_Quine wrote: »

I understand that as well as going to your GP in England you can go to a drop in centre, these don't exist here at all.



The term 'free' nursing care is not what it seems. If in a care home you get a small amount for the care but personal care and so-called hotel charges are still made. Care fees are several hundred pounds per week and no Attendance Allowance is payable. When your savings drop as in England the majority of your pension is paid to the home.

I think that is still a huge amount less than the fees here! My Mum's fees, when she died, 16 years ago, were £1750 a month! And she didn't need specialist care either, she was just too frail to live at home. My friend's mum, who has Alzheimers, is self funding, and pays over £1000 per week!

My point was that there should be parity, not only within the UK, but within boroughs, so it isn't a post code lottery. Huge apologies, I've gone off topic.:o

xx

oliveoil99

helpfulperson wrote: »

Don't forget that if you do start working you could lose some of your Housing and Council Tax Benefit

Maybe you can tell me what does this TROLL mean that I keep seeing on people's threads? I thought a troll of my understanding is a doll with brightly coloured long hair certainly don't know what it means in computor language. Not a compliment that I do understand. Thank-you.

poet123

oliveoil99 wrote: »

Maybe you can tell me what does this TROLL mean that I keep seeing on people's threads? I thought a troll of my understanding is a doll with brightly coloured long hair certainly don't know what it means in computor language. Not a compliment that I do understand. Thank-you.

Someone who is deliberately provocative, then sits back and watches the fireworks.

However, increasingly it is used by those who disagree with someone whom they cannot better in debate, so they resort to belittling their views by the use of that derogatory name.

clemmatis

SandraScarlett wrote: »

I think that is still a huge amount less than the fees here! My Mum's fees, when she died, 16 years ago, were £1750 a month! And she didn't need specialist care either, she was just too frail to live at home. My friend's mum, who has Alzheimers, is self funding, and pays over £1000 per week!

My point was that there should be parity, not only within the UK, but within boroughs, so it isn't a post code lottery. Huge apologies, I've gone off topic.:o

xx

Yes, there's a postcode lottery and there are differences between the nations, the private care/nursing home fees you mention sound like a postcode difference to me; when my mother died 12 years ago, her fees, in one of the best nursing homes in Cardiff, and about the third most expensive, were £1800 a month, nursing care included. Currently, the fees are -- minimum -- £2600 a month.

It's difficult to see how to ensure there isn't a postcode difference in private nursing home fees, though.

Here's some information about Scotland that may help

http://www.adviceoncare.co.uk/scotland-care.htm

Torry_Quine

SandraScarlett wrote: »

I think that is still a huge amount less than the fees here! My Mum's fees, when she died, 16 years ago, were £1750 a month! And she didn't need specialist care either, she was just too frail to live at home. My friend's mum, who has Alzheimers, is self funding, and pays over £1000 per week!

My point was that there should be parity, not only within the UK, but within boroughs, so it isn't a post code lottery. Huge apologies, I've gone off topic.:o

xx

My relative was paying over £700 per week eight years ago so I hate to think what it would be now and that's straight forward care and no dementia so just the same kind of amounts. It's not the most expensive home in this area by a long way.

Mojisola

The homes I've looked at locally this week range from £850 to £1k a week - that's for nursing care. The dementia units cost more.

roddydogs

£13 PW (£52 PM for water)? I pay £11 pm in Epsom, Sy, yes thats sewerage as well.(On Water Meter)