Dementia and NHS Continuing Health Care

bujin

Wondered if anyone could shed a little more light on this for me. Dad has dementia and we're getting to the point where we're questioning if having him in his own home is actually working. We'r eunder no illusions that being in a Care Home will undoubtedly for a time at least probably make him worse.
Anyway whilst chatting to someone recently they said their Mum who has her own house and savings, was awarded Continuing Healthcare making her eligible to have her fees paid. She also has Dementia.

Surely if someone can afford to pay for their own care they have to don't they. As said if anyone has nay experience of this I'd like to know.
I've read about Continuin Healthcare and know they do a checklist and then decide whether to do a full assess,ent, but how does this work, what criteria dotheyuse etc.Thanks in advance.

Person_one

Very basically, Continuing Healthcare is for people whose care needs are medical/specialist nursing rather than social care that can be provided by unqualified staff.

Does your dad have a social worker or any district nurses who visit? If so, they'll be able to explain in more detail.

Here's a copy of the checklist if you want to have a glance. I'll be honest, if the dementia is his only issue, he's very unlikely to get CHC funding.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213138/NHS-CHC-Checklist-FINAL.pdf

kaya

They make you pay, my nan has dementia and we had to have her sectioned two years ago but the type of section they used was a temporary one so it transpires she needs social care not healthcare , ergo the government get out of coughing up and force the sale of her home to pay for the care , I'm it sure why we pay into a healthcare system any more ?

margaretclare

Has your Dad still got capacity to make his own decisions? You sound as if you want to make decisions/choices for him.

margaretclare

kaya wrote: »

They make you pay, my nan has dementia and we had to have her sectioned two years ago but the type of section they used was a temporary one so it transpires she needs social care not healthcare , ergo the government get out of coughing up and force the sale of her home to pay for the care , I'm it sure why we pay into a healthcare system any more ?

Because there's a difference between health care and social care.

Person_one

kaya wrote: »

They make you pay, my nan has dementia and we had to have her sectioned two years ago but the type of section they used was a temporary one so it transpires she needs social care not healthcare , ergo the government get out of coughing up and force the sale of her home to pay for the care , I'm it sure why we pay into a healthcare system any more ?

Healthcare is free, that's why the assessment exists.

Social care isn't, in some ways its a shame, but actually if you have dementia and need full time care then what could possibly be a better use for your money than a good care home place?

onlyroz

Isn't there also a difference between the cost of the nursing, and the cost of the accommodation? So while you might get the actual nursing for free wouldn't you still have to pay for the accommodation and food?

Person_one

onlyroz wrote: »

Isn't there also a difference between the cost of the nursing, and the cost of the accommodation? So while you might get the actual nursing for free wouldn't you still have to pay for the accommodation and food?

No I don't think so, just as you don't have to pay bed and board in an NHS hospital. If you screen in, your care is fully funded I think.

growler834

To be blunt - NHS CHC is so difficult to get you practically have to be at death's door to qualify & even then it's not a certainty.
My 91yr old MIL had her second assessment yesterday - she had her first in December when she was moved from hospital into a nursing home as we were told she could no longer go back home. She has dementia but other than arthritis has no other health problems. She didn't pass the first assessment. Since then she has gone from 62 kilos down to 48 kilos as she stopped eating & drinking properly 3 months ago since when she has been bedbound, unresponsive to communication, doubly incontinent & at risk of bed sores. Unsurprisingly yesterday she was again not assessed as being eligible for CHC because all the care she receives is 'social'. Although she is in the end stage of her life & could pass away at any time, we were told she would only be eligible if she developed a health problem ie. pneumonia, heart attack etc - in which case they would pay her fees but she would probably only survive a few days in those circumstances anyway.
Do your homework - go to http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/ which will help. Good luck, you will need it.

Person_one

growler834 wrote: »

To be blunt - NHS CHC is so difficult to get you practically have to be at death's door to qualify & even then it's not a certainty.

Its not about how close the person is to the end of their life, its about what their care needs are and what sort of expertise is needed to provide that care.

I completely understand why family members really want their relatives to screen in for CHC, but if everybody who needed any care was funded by the NHS can you imagine the bill?

Not getting CHC doesn't mean not getting care, it just means it will be funded in accordance with the social care system, not the NHS.

bujin

margaretclare wrote: »

Has your Dad still got capacity to make his own decisions? You sound as if you want to make decisions/choices for him.

Should have elaborated as someone always jumps to the wrong conclusion. No Dad has no capacity at all, he needs every decision made for him every care need either done or assisted by us. He no longer knows who we really are and when I say it might not be working, when you're considering a Care Home for your parent for me anyway it's the absolutely last resort. It's no longer what's best for them any longer because you can't really argue that a care home will be beneficial to ayone but us. It will be very disruptive and challenging, confusing and distressing for him. Some of my siblings can cope and some can't and we are at the point where we may not be able to continue ifit's down to one of us.

Thanks for the other comments, I didn't think patients with a sole diagnosis of Dementia would qualify and other than that Dad's as fit as a fiddle so I don't think he will unless as yous ay he develops an ongoing physical problem.