Advice re. nursing costs

xylophone

nursing care?

http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/guide/practicalsupport/Pages/NHSContinuingCare.aspx

If she had a "primary health need and a complex medical condition and substantial and ongoing care needs", see above.

elsien

Care home fees obviously depend on the individual home but as a rough guide I think my gran's place (Midlands) started at £515 per week for a shared room, with higher rates for a single room and an en-suite. If she was self funding she'd have to pay the majority of that at the moment unless she qualified for the health care thingy which is very hard to get, until her eligible assets came down to around the 23K mark. ( I think the first 12 weeks of care are paid for, regardless of assets.) If she's self funding and gets attendance allowance, I think she continues to get that so could put that towards the fees. Ditto her pension. So worst case scenario if she doesn't qualify for NHS help you're looking at topping up her pension and attendance allowance every week to whatever the care home fees are.
If she did have to pay, she wouldn't necessarily need to pay up front, this is where the deferred charge on the house comes in, if the house isn't an exempt asset.

As far as nursing needs if she stays at home, again that's down to social services assessment of need and finances. Plus how practical it is for nursing care (as opposed to personal care) to be provided at home. Depending on her eligible assets, she may be funded or she may need to fund any carers coming into the home herself, either partially or fully - that's for the personal care side of things. What level of nursing care the NHS would be willing and able to provide at home is another question entirely.

There aren't necessarily any straight answers as due to budget cuts some councils are making it up as they go along - in my area if the older person is being funded by the county council if it's cheaper for people to stay at home then they'll pay for carers etc to go in. However once the cost of someone staying at home becomes more than the cost of being in a home, then they either have to go into care or someone (eg another family member) can choose to pay the difference.


I would suggest phoning age concern or one of the other advice lines (there's one called firststop, although I've not used them myself) which might give you a bit more of a starting point.

Southend1

I think you're doing the right thing by getting proper legal advice.

If your father doesn't already live with your gran then I suspect there's probably not a great deal she can do because moving him in to avoid care fees would (I am guessing) be classed as deprivation of capital. I understand your gran's desire to look out for her son but there may come a time when her need is greater than his and she has to sell up to provide for her own care.

As others have said, she may not need to go into a home anyway.

My own gran is in a lovely care home and pays around £750 a week. I'd much rather she spent all her money to live her last years in comfort and dignity than scrimping and saving on care to leave something for the family.

margaretclare

To my surprise, I have discovered nothing remotely useful to help me, and even no forum on here (unless I am in the wrong place!) to guide me.

There is no specific forum on here for this particular topic, but do a little searching and you'll see that it comes up in separate threads over and over again. There was a thread quite recently headed 'Transfer of equity' on the Marriage and Family board, and there have been many on the 50+ savings board.

The trouble is, you see, that there are many of us who have likewise 'worked our knuckles to the bone' and see things a little differently.

Another thing to consider is that your Gran may well live in her own home, even if she needs help coming in, for a good number of years yet. She may never need care in a nursing home or, indeed, any form of full-time residential care.

It's a good idea to take a good hard look at her present surroundings, will they always be manageable for her, does she need e.g. a shower-room rather than a bathroom, a more modern and easy-care kitchen, an easy-care garden, better furniture etc.

Care home fees obviously depend on the individual home but as a rough guide I think my gran's place (Midlands) started at £515 per week for a shared room, with higher rates for a single room and an en-suite.

There really is a huge variation. We recently visited a former colleague of DH's, in a nursing-home in Surrey. He's in his 80s and has had a long and serious illness, needed skilled care for recuperation but is hoping to return home with a full care package in place. Whether he will or not is anyone's guess - he's very frail physically but pin-sharp mentally. It's like a 5* hotel and I saw the prices - in excess of a grand a week. He said he was paying for it out of investments.

Mojisola

kitkatt1982 wrote: »

My father (her son) has been forced into early retirement due to 50 years of ill health. Should she pass before him (which is unlikely but possible) she wishes to leave her house to him so that he can have some quality of life before he dies (which was one of the main reasons they bought the house in the first place), rather than have to sell it to fund her own healthcare needs.

If your father is given or inherits your gran's house, any means tested benefits he is receiving will stop.

He will then be expected to live off his windfall in a manner similar to his life when on benefits. Some expenditure would be acceptable but he would have to be careful not to fall foul of deprivation of assets rules.

atush

The one way I can think of, to preserve the house for your father, is for him to move in with your Gran. She could sign over 50% of the house, if he pays the bills, helps with maintenance perhaps (do seek legal advice here to see if money needs to change hands). If he owns where he is now, he could sell it and use the proceeds to 'buy' part of her house. This extra meony could then be a part of her money invested.

That way, should she need to go into a home, it would not be sold as he lives there.

Otherwise a good will and having her investments properly invested/looked after and you could help see she stays in her home. You could help her spend money to 'future proof it' by making sure there is a downstairs room for her to sleep in, and a downstairs bathroom etc.

Then is she becomes infirm, you can see to it yourself, with your relatives and brought in carers to see she is looked after well enough to continue to live there.

kitkatt1982

Thanks everyone for all your advice in this matter, looking forward to seeking legal advice but have explained a few things to her now which I hope has helped as well as trying to convince her that her care needs are most important. We've already been really proactive in making adjustments in the home to help and hopefully the situation will never materialise. You just never know what to do for the best.

Mojisola wrote: »

If your father is given or inherits your gran's house, any means tested benefits he is receiving will stop.
Thanks Mojisola but this does not apply as he does not claim any benefits.

Mojisola

kitkatt1982 wrote: »

Mojisola wrote: »

If your father is given or inherits your gran's house, any means tested benefits he is receiving will stop.
Thanks Mojisola but this does not apply as he does not claim any benefits.

Is he missing out? If his health is that poor, he should be entitled to health-related benefits.

Poppy9

Why not consider Granny selling up and using the money to adapt, extend your father's home or buy a new house together so it's fully accessible and comfortable for them both.

The more accessible the home, the more likely your Granny will be able to receive care at home instead of in a residential environment.