Continuing Healthcare Question

shammygirl

Hi

I'm hoping there may be a number of people who have gone through this who may be able to advise.

background:
Until December my 97 year old Gran has been in her own home with 4 care visits per day to help with general washing, feeding, and such. In December she had a fall(onset of dementia, she forgot she couldn't walk) and ended up in hospital. From Hospital she ended up in a respite place while the relevant authorities decided what was best. it was decided she would need to go into a care home, relevant one found, and she has been there since the beginning of march.

She had the Continuing healthcare assessment completed and unsurprisingly she didn't meet the criteria, she was only entitled to the care element £155.05 per week. We are going to appeal this as her assessment stated she had 6/7 elements that covered Major, High & moderate levels(but no complexity as shes quite a nice old lady, so no continuing healthcare funding). My mother never wanted to broach the subject of transferring her house in case of such an event so her home remains in her name.

The piece i'm looking for advice on is at the meeting to discuss the assessment the question was asked can she go back to her own home if she only needs the care element and the resounding answer was "No absolutely not".

my question is: is it legal for them to force her into a care home and have her pay for it herself? i can't get my head around being forced into a care home and being made to pay for it herself. Being in the care home is the right decision for her well being but in the end she has had no choice in the matter. maybe its my naivety but it just feels like legalised theft.

Any advice/perspective greatly accepted

thanks

elsien

You need to separate the issues as they are not the same:

Does she need to be in a care home: has she had a full needs assessment, and can she manage at home with the level of support the local authority and family are able to offer?

Does she have capacity to make the decision herself? If yes, then she can choose to make an unwise decision and return home. If no, then if there is power of attorney they make the decision, if there is no power of attorney then a best interest's decision is made on her behalf with family being consulted in the process. Which it sounds like you have been. You/she can challenge the decision for her to go into a care home if you disagree.

Whether CHC or LA funded, the going home option should still be considered to see how viable it is.

The second issue as to who pays for it is separate from the decision as to the level of care. The financial assessment should be carried out after the type of care she needs has been decided. So if everyone is agreed that she needs to be in a care home - and from your post the family agree with this - then who pays for it is down to whether she qualifies for CHC or LA funding, and whether she has enouth assets to pay for her own care. Giving her money away to avoid this would be deprivation of assets.
It's not theft. She is paying for the care she needs. Otherwise all us taxpayeers would be paying for her so that her family can inherit instead.

It would appear that you all agree she needs a care home, you just don't want her to pay for it. Having enough money to pay for herself gives her choices so that if she doesn't like where she is she can look elsewhere.

You can challenge the CHC decision if you wish but if there is no complexity then don't hold your breath.

sitesafe

If she can afford to pay for herself in a care home then has she thought about a live in Carer as it can often work out cheaper and she won't have to move.

poppy12345

Duplicate post here. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5829054