Care costs

Dave215

Hi,
My Dad is currently living in his own house but has carers coming round regularly for various things. He has been fine for the past couple of years but now his bills are increasing and he'll run out of savings probably within 18 months to 2 years.
Although I'd love to help my job involves staying away from home most nights so I'm never there and so I need to start looking at care homes.
As he has owns his house I know he'll have to pay but does anyone have any idea what they cost. Google searches appear to say £600-£800 a week in the north of England, but is this just care costs or would it include food, bills etc. 
Also I was thinking of renting out his house as this would mean he had approximately £600-700 a week to spend on care. If he did then run out what happens? Do the council insist on selling his house immediately or would they wait until he dies and then ask for whatever the outstanding care costs are ?

lesalanos

In my opinion renting it out wouldn't be viable

The rental figure would be monthly rather than weekly. 

You may have to spend £ to enable it to obtain gas/electrical safety certs.  Also factor in insurance & repairs

Rent is not guaranteed

Dave215

Sorry I don't mean I could rent out his house for £600 a week. I mean that if his house was rented, the rent of £150 a week plus his pensions of nearly £500 a week plus attendance allowance would mean he'd have a total of £650-700 a week or £2500 a month. I've still no idea if this would cover care costs in a home though.

kayleighali

Don't quote me on this but I believe the attendance allowance would come to an end. We didn't realise this when my gran went into care and ended up with an overpayment. I believe it's for people who live independently.

kayleighali

Just found this on the website:

If you’re in a care home

You cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority. You can still claim Attendance Allowance if you pay for all your care home costs yourself.

So it would depend whether there was a contribution from the local authority or not

Dave215

Initially he would be paying all the care costs himself. Obviously at some point he may run out of savings and need to rely on the local authority 

elsien

It may well depend on the level of care that he's getting but if his savings falls below the threshold should he not be asking the LA for a financial assessment and to have the care partly or wholly funded by them to stay where he is? If he's below the 23,250 savings limit  then he shouldn't be paying it all himself anyway. 
The value of his house is disregarded while he's living in it.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/
ETA - is there a power of attorney in place and if not, does your dad have capacity to make one as he should seriously consider it. If not and he lacks capacity you would have to apply for a deputyship to do anything with his house and money. The council do not have the power to sell his house - look up deferred payment arrangements. 
Care home fees usually include all the basics, food etc but things like chiropody, hairdressing, some activities will be chargeable as extras. Transport to appointments will also be chargeable (unless hospital transport uses) as will someone to go with the person in  many care homes. 

elsien

Also to add that if dad does decide to go into a care home and this needs to be LA funded (or will do at some point in the foreseeable future) they will have to assess his needs to decide what level of care he has. That may mean that if he chooses somewhere expensive, or a nursing home when he has no nursing needs, there is a possibility that he would have to move elsewhere at the point they start funding it unless there is a third party willing and able to pay any top up fee. 
I would advise that at the point where you are both considering a care home as an option, contacting his local social services dept for a Care Act needs assessment if there isn't an updated one in place. 
As an example, the amount my LA is willing to pay for a care home place is around the £380 mark, with some discretion to pay a top up if there is good reason to do so. Many homes cost a lot more than that - sometimes there is a degree of negotiation involved but there aren't many options in that price bracket. 

tooldle

My mum is in residential care. I applied for Attendance Allowance for her as she pays her own care costs. We are in South Wales. Mum's fees are a touch under 40K per year. It might seem a lot, but divided out into an hourly rate it is peanuts. Most costs are covered, the only extras for mum are toiletries, hair dressing, foot care, sweets and treats etc. Prescriptions here are free. I think its a pretty good deal. the standard of care is excellent and, most importantly she is happy and safe.

Morglin

When my dad was transferred, from hospital, to a care home, in London, the cost was £1700 per week, for private funders, but he did have complex needs, and anything London is always expensive.

As LPA, I sold his house, to provide the funds, but after assessments, he received NHS Continuing Care, so he was funded through the local health authority.  I left the money in his savings account, in case he had to start paying, as there was no way I wanted to be an accidental lsndlord.

They do vary in cost, and private funders pay extra, as councils don’t pay enough for their clients.

It is difficult and stressful sorting all this out, and sadly, Dad died in the home during lockdown.  The upside was that it was a lovely home, with great staff, and although we hadn’t been able to visit for 10 weeks, they did support us and him through it.

Good luck with finding a nice home for your dad.

xylophone

but does anyone have any idea what they cost. 

Rather than guess, have a look at what is available by way of care homes in his area

Example

https://www.google.com/search?q=care+homes+in+north+yorkshire&oq=carehomes+in+north+yorkshie&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l7.17480j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

see what might appeal to him and then ring round for costs?

Dad will almost certainly have to cover such services as chiropody/dentistry/barbering/ taxis/outings etc on top of his fees.

If he is self funding, he will be entitled to his AA at the rate applicable to his circumstances and also to half the full rate of winter fuel allowance.

He may qualify for the Nursing Care component (see  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-funded-nursing-care/).