£2000 a week for my mum's dementia care home!

born_again

KTrazor said:

I can't find a category for this. I hope this may reach the right audience.
Please can someone update on what is going on with this scandal of dementia care-home costs? Mum is self funding as she has savings of over £23,500. Dad is still living in their home so I know that's safe. How on earth did we let this happen these shocking costs happen? When I tell folks it's £2000 A WEEK, they simply can't get over it? What's going on in parliament? Is Martin Lewis still fighting for answers / solutions? 
Thanks.

8 years ago we were paying £2 a month for my mother & council funded the nursing care side of things.
When you look at the number of staff required for the homes. You can see why they charge so much.

EnPointe

Pollycat said:

Savvy_Sue said:

Has an assessment been carried out for Continuing Health Care? If her needs are sufficiently high, that should help. Did you agree with the assessment? 

But that's about what our relative is paying in London, not for dementia care. And I wish the staff were better paid! 

Just to say that I read in older posts that CHC was incredibly hard to get so the OP doesn't get their hopes up.

people keep talking about Continuing health care  as though  it will magically protect their inheritance, CHC is there to fund placements where the alternative would be prolonged Acute Hospital admission...   

people also seem to think that  getting  certain scores on the screening questionaire will automatically  lead to getting CHC  

Silvertabby

A little different for us, as we don't have children - but in the event that one of us needs nursing home care, the other will take out maximum equity release to pay for care in a local home of our choosing.  An 'over-my-dead-body grove' in the next town would not be an option.

But if we did have children, I would hope that we would have brought them up to do what's best for us, not for their inheritance.  

tooldle

If you calculate this as a hourly rate, you might feel differently. A place to live with food, comforts and care provided 24/7 for less than £12 per hour. What type of ‘dementia care’ are we discussing. Residential Care, Nursing Care or EMI Care? 

Pollycat

EnPointe said:

Pollycat said:

Savvy_Sue said:

Has an assessment been carried out for Continuing Health Care? If her needs are sufficiently high, that should help. Did you agree with the assessment? 

But that's about what our relative is paying in London, not for dementia care. And I wish the staff were better paid! 

Just to say that I read in older posts that CHC was incredibly hard to get so the OP doesn't get their hopes up.

people keep talking about Continuing health care  as though  it will magically protect their inheritance, CHC is there to fund placements where the alternative would be prolonged Acute Hospital admission...   

people also seem to think that  getting  certain scores on the screening questionaire will automatically  lead to getting CHC  

I was pointing out that getting CHC would not be easy so the OP should not see it as a way of saving £2k per week.

If someone doesn't have to pay care home fees (instead it's funded by the NHS) then there will be more money left for beneficiaries when the person dies.

The post above mine certainly puts the £2k per week into perspective.

35har1old

ian16527 said:

I think it depends where you are in the country. My Dad has just passed away after being in a care home in the North East for 2 years. 
Cost was £1135/week and will be going up soon. He had just started LA pick up funding where he paid all his pension less £35/week plus £30/week from his savings. I now from when he first went in the LA paid for this and they only paid £899/week.

There are some more expensive homes around, say £1300/week but that seems very expensive

Was it a care home or a nursing home or a dementia care home? All have different rates 

LightFlare

7 days in a week
24 hours in a day
assume £12.5 per hour wages for one person
That alone comes to £2100
Add in operating costs and ofc profit (who would run a business without making a profit)
You can see how easily £2k a week can be attained 

People applaud when min wage is increased but then seem surprised when costs associated to businesses that have to pay said wages go up

Anyone who thinks it’s all a ripoff or a scam or whatever - there is always the option for you to open a facility and charge what you think is a reasonable price

Pollycat

LightFlare said:

7 days in a week
24 hours in a day
assume £12.5 per hour wages for one person
That alone comes to £2100
Add in operating costs and ofc profit (who would run a business without making a profit)
You can see how easily £2k a week can be attained 

People applaud when min wage is increased but then seem surprised when costs associated to businesses that have to pay said wages go up

Anyone who thinks it’s all a ripoff or a scam or whatever - there is always the option for you to open a facility and charge what you think is a reasonable price

Or provide 24 hour care for your relative yourself - either in your house or theirs...

Albermarle

The fact that the majority of care homes are now privately owned by distant investors/private equity , probably does not help.

Private equity firms taking millions in profits from care sector each year, new analysis… | New Economics Foundation

KTrazor

Thanks everyone. I should have made my point a bit better. The scandal is that dementia is a health condition that should, in all good faith, be picked up and treated by the NHS. But the Government neatly swerved that and re-classed dementia as a social care condition. The upshot is, god forbid, but if your loved-one has a heart condition or cancer or the like (or continuing health care) the NHS / LA will fund the lot. I don't see how as a society we've accepted that dementia is 'different' and tolerate this blatant discrimination when my mum at 84 has paid in all her life.