Selling home to pay care home fees?

monkeyspanner

Biggles wrote: »

I think that's understood, but the real issue is when a resident finds they have to call on the local authority for their care. The LA will not necessarily carry on funding the person in the same home, they will look at what's available in their area and the costs involved, which might mean the person moving to a new home against their will.

Quite right, and this in part is due to councils being able to pay less than self-funders for the same care in the same care home. Which means that self-funding residents are not only paying for their own care but subsidising the council supported residents. Please note anyone in this position that the residents relatives cannot be asked for 3rd party top-up fees if the council cannot demonstarte the availability of a suitable care home in the immediate area which is prepared to accept the councils set subsidy rates and has a vacancy. In addition a health and safety review should be carried out to assess the risk of a move to the resident's physical and mental welfare.

Mojisola

monkeyspanner wrote: »

In addition a health and safety review should be carried out to assess the risk of a move to the resident's physical and mental welfare.

The social workers have told me that Dad will be moved to a cheaper home if his money runs out. As he will be in his late 90s and the current home will have been his "home" for years by the time that happens, I'm hoping to use the argument that moving him will be detrimental to his health.

monkeyspanner

Mojisola wrote: »

The social workers have told me that Dad will be moved to a cheaper home if his money runs out. As he will be in his late 90s and the current home will have been his "home" for years by the time that happens, I'm hoping to use the argument that moving him will be detrimental to his health.

It would be worth looking at travel for you or other friends and family to visit in the suggested home. If more difficult you can argue that not being able to visit as often would be detrimental. This worked in the case of my brother in law's father also in his 90's. Also it is worth having his care needs reassessed. If a higher level of care is assessed this may close the gap between the council rates and the rates the home wish to charge.

gingerfox

loulou123 wrote: »

Sorry OP this is a "little" off topic...

In the care home I work in we have fully funded residents (ie they have no money of their own or they are funded through continuing health care,) people who top up government funding through their own savings/or their husbands/wifes etc and people who are fully private paying all their own fees...they ALL receive exactly the same care and attention (obviously dependant on the individuals needs.) The fact they are fee paying or not doesn't even come into it.

Obviously I can't say what happens in other homes, but I think its important to know that in at least some homes, the standards of care does NOT depend on who and how your paying the bill.

This is my experience too; in my mother's home you couldn't pick out the funded from self-funders by standard of care. In fact, the less well, and therefore funded, tend to get more care out of sheer necessity.

I suspect that this may be a regional thing, many people on here have pointed out that they wouldn't want to be funded as the quality of homes/care is poorer.

Errata

I don't think it happens. Careworkers would have no idea which residents were self funded and which not. They have no access to the Home's financial records, nor do they need it.

Savvy_Sue

gingerfox wrote: »

I suspect that this may be a regional thing, many people on here have pointed out that they wouldn't want to be funded as the quality of homes/care is poorer.

I think the point I've usually made is that I'd like the choice: if I'm self-funding, I'll have more choice than if the council are paying for me.

margaretclare

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think the point I've usually made is that I'd like the choice: if I'm self-funding, I'll have more choice than if the council are paying for me.

To me, it is and it always will be, about choice. The very worst end to life would, IMHO, be to be pushed in somewhere you wouldn't normally choose to go in a million years if you had the capacity to do something better.

Mojisola

gingerfox wrote: »

This is my experience too; in my mother's home you couldn't pick out the funded from self-funders by standard of care. In fact, the less well, and therefore funded, tend to get more care out of sheer necessity.

I suspect that this may be a regional thing, many people on here have pointed out that they wouldn't want to be funded as the quality of homes/care is poorer.

In our area, there are some homes that charge the LA rate and everyone who is being funded goes to those. I would not have been happy to leave Dad in the ones I looked at - the funding is just too low to provide good care.

As far as I can tell, everyone in the other homes is either fully self-funding or has someone paying the top-up fee.

pmlindyloo

margaretclare wrote: »

To me, it is and it always will be, about choice. The very worst end to life would, IMHO, be to be pushed in somewhere you wouldn't normally choose to go in a million years if you had the capacity to do something better.

I keep reading about having a choice so I have to assume that different authirities have different rules about this.

My mother is funded by East Susex. When she moved to a residential home in Dartford we were able to visit as many homes as we liked and able to choose the one we wanted.

Again, when she moved from a residential home to a nursing home we had free choice. No one hassled us. The fees are being paid by East Sussex, NHS for the nursing part and mum pays from her pension credit and is left with her £20+ per week for her personal 'spends'.

I have said this before. Local authorities have the power to negotiate with the home as regards the fees.

The nursing home is BUPA owned and is very good. We have not been asked for a 'top up'.

I am not suggesting that all authorities do this but this is my very recent experience (last few months)

There has been a lot of concern about the choice of care homes for people and things do seem to have changed over the years.

It would be interesting to hear from people who have recent experiences of how choosing a care home has gone and whether this is, indeed, different from authority to authority.

Mojisola

pmlindyloo wrote: »

It would be interesting to hear from people who have recent experiences of how choosing a care home has gone and whether this is, indeed, different from authority to authority.

I was given a list of the homes that charge what the LA will pay.

When I said I wasn't happy with what I had seen, they suggested several others which charged a bit more but was told the difference would have to be paid by us.