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Paying for a Care Home
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weeg
Posts: 1,077 Forumite


Not sure if this is the right place to ask (Can the boardguide move if not please).
I wonder if anyone can help me with some information about paying for residential care, or rather trying to get help with paying for residential care. What little I know, I know from the Alzheimers website. And I prefer to deal with social work already armed with the facts
The situation is this:
My father (age 70, in otherwise good health) has Alzheimers, and my mother can no longer care for him at home. Social services have given us a list of homes that are suitable and we’re going to investigate.
We are in Scotland, so the ‘personal care’ portion of the fees is paid for – c£190/week.
What income can the local authority take into account when assessing what Dad’s contribution should be?
What allowances are there?
I know that they cannot force my mother to sell the house while she still lives there, but she cannot afford the mortgage without Dad’s pension. What about paying for the car? They have just given Mum a disabled badge, so will the automatically take car costs into account when assessing her needs? It would seem a huge shame if my Mum has to scrimp and save and not enjoy the scant years she has left, just cos she can’t look after him.
Dad has no other assets. Mum has Premium bonds. Will she have to declare these to the council?
I don’t even have an inkling of how much Care Homes cost!
I’d be grateful for any help/advice/pointing in the right direction you can give me. Thank you.
I wonder if anyone can help me with some information about paying for residential care, or rather trying to get help with paying for residential care. What little I know, I know from the Alzheimers website. And I prefer to deal with social work already armed with the facts
The situation is this:
My father (age 70, in otherwise good health) has Alzheimers, and my mother can no longer care for him at home. Social services have given us a list of homes that are suitable and we’re going to investigate.
We are in Scotland, so the ‘personal care’ portion of the fees is paid for – c£190/week.
What income can the local authority take into account when assessing what Dad’s contribution should be?
What allowances are there?
I know that they cannot force my mother to sell the house while she still lives there, but she cannot afford the mortgage without Dad’s pension. What about paying for the car? They have just given Mum a disabled badge, so will the automatically take car costs into account when assessing her needs? It would seem a huge shame if my Mum has to scrimp and save and not enjoy the scant years she has left, just cos she can’t look after him.
Dad has no other assets. Mum has Premium bonds. Will she have to declare these to the council?
I don’t even have an inkling of how much Care Homes cost!
I’d be grateful for any help/advice/pointing in the right direction you can give me. Thank you.
0
Comments
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difficult isn't it and really frightening. My Dad had Alzheimers, and it was a nightmare sorting everthing thing out, because they just make it so complicated. One of the things to remember, is that they will treat your mum and dad as having separate incomes, so your mum may be entitled to some help, pension credit, council tax benefit housing benefit etc, because she will be on a low income. A good website is entitledto.com, and the alzheimers society have lots of useful info on their website and they have a helpline.
Pay for what you can up front, we paid for a funeral plan, to use up some capital if you can.
Just take things easy and work your way through slowly, there are lots of things your mum can claim for and it does all come to geher eventually.
Best wishes
Nora0 -
Weeg, I do hope that someone can supply the info or links that you need.
My husband is in the same situation as regards his father and doesn't know where to turn re means assessment for the care home costs. His father has made the decision to go into a care home but as to what needs to be done in the interim.... he is also in Scotland but we are living abroad.
Any more info or links for Scotland would be very much appreciated.
All the best for now.
Anna.0 -
I have just checked out the Age Concern website and you can download various very detailed information sheets in relation to how the councils do their means assessments.
Loads of other info as well.
I do hope this will be of help.
Anna0 -
Hi Weeg,
I work for social services in England, so I'm not very familiar with the Scottish system. However, I can inform you that even if your father's assets mean that he is not entitled to financial support from social services, under the provisions of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 they still have a duty to assess his needs and provide a written assessment if you request this. They also have a duty to provide relevant advice and information. Additionally, you can read current and past inspection reports for care homes online and free of charge via the CSCI website (Commission for Social Care Inspection), which can help to inform your choice of residential care. www.csci.org.uk/find_a_report.aspx
This must be a very traumatic time for all of you, and Social Services should recognise this and can signpost or refer you to other avenues of support, such as Age Concern and Carers Support organisations. These can provide invaluable support and advice, and in the case of Carers Support organisations, can provide ongoing emotional support for your mother for as long as she requires it.
If your father has very complex needs which are associated with his illness (e.g. speech, behaviour, mobility, feeding etc), then he may be eligible for increased or even total funding from the NHS. In England we call this Continuing Health Care. Again, you have a right to request a Continuing Health Care assessment of his needs, and this is usually carried out by the local primary care trust. Social Services should be able to give you more information about this.
I do hope this helps a little.
Best Wishes
Lesley0 -
NHS CARE HOME FUNDING Worth keeping an eye on this site if you don't want to part with more money than is absolutely necessary.My weight loss following Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Program
Start 23rd Jan 2008 14st 9lbs Current 10st 12lbs0 -
They should only take into account his own income and assets, not his wife's. They can't use the house to pay for the care while she is living in it.In England, if the house is owned as "tenants in common" ie 50% each, then they could only take half the value if she later wanted to sell and raise cash.Trying to keep it simple...0
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Ted_Hutchinson wrote: »NHS CARE HOME FUNDING Worth keeping an eye on this site if you don't want to part with more money than is absolutely necessary.
Ted, many thanks for this information!0
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