Care home costs

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Hi
I have finally come to the realisation that mum needs to be cared for 24 hours a day and needs to move into a permanent caregiver giving environment
Just wondered if anyone can advise on the costs. Mum has Alzheimer’s dementia and would need specialist care as she has recently been diagnosed as type 2 diabetic
I have tried googling but I can’t seem to get a direct answer
Thanks so much in advance
L
 

Louise7

Volunteer Host
Mar 25, 2016
4,694
0
It's a difficult question to answer as fees depend on the type of home - residential, nursing, EMI - and also the location of the home ('down south' seems to be a lot more expensive than other areas!) If you let us know what type of home and the area you are looking at someone may be in a better position to provide an estimate of costs. Sounds like your Mum may need a nursing home due to her diabetes - have you had a social services care needs assessment to identify the level of care required?

You could try looking at this site by searching by the type of home/area as some homes provide a guideline of their fees: https://www.carehome.co.uk/
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
It also depends how much money she has in the bank and whether she has property. I would suggest a social services assessment.
 

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Thank you for your replies - I love how great this forum is.
Mum would need a nursing home as she needs to have medical care / someone to give her medication etc and to control her diabetes.
Mum has an assessment recently for respite care - and we had to pay a top up for the care.
Mum has no property but a good nhs pension (the irony) and state pension.
Her savings are below the threshold.
We live in the East Midlands - so hoping its not as expensive as London - but may be more the the north.
Any estimates would be really great
Thank you so much
 

Karen1062

New member
Mar 26, 2018
7
0
Hi I just logged on to ask for advice similar to you , myself, sister and dad have now realised that my mum needs full time care social service have assessed mum this week and have said mum needs high dependency care as their is very little she can do for herself mum and dad live in a park home which SS have said would not be taken into account when the financial assessment is carried out, does anyone know what happens to mums pension and disability allowance that she now receives, they have less than £10,000 in savings the letter I have been given from KCC says that they expect to pay £487.83 for the level of care needed I was wondering if the disability allowance is stopped or goes towards the £487.83 together with her pension this is such a traumatic time without the stress of how we are going to pay for her care.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
@Lindie16

It looks as if your mum maybe entitled to FNC ( funded nursing care) a checklist

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/783048/continuing_healthcare_checklist_-_December_2018_revised.odt
would confirm this .
Has this been done?

If the LA assess her as needing residential care legally they have to provide a placement ( maybe not your choice or in your geographic area) any top ups requested for other placements are optional.

What are the LA suggesting as the way forward?

 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
As Nitram says the place to start is getting Social Services to do an assessment of her needs, as you're expecting them to pay they have to agree that a home is the only way forward.
If the SS agree she need to go into care then they will give you a figure they're willing to pay and if you can't find anywhere you like in budget then you'd either have to have a place based on the budget or pay a top up.
Pensions and benefits will stop unless she has a partner in which case they should be allowed to keep half of any private pensions she receives.
The value of the pensions is included in the figure the SS give you not additional to it (in answer to Karen's question). Karen quote a figure of £487.83 as being the rate her LA pay so you'd have to find somewhere at that figure or pay a top up.
So the first hurdle is getting the SS to agree to pay for the care and see what figure they'll agree to it might be higher as she has nursing needs but as Nitram says if she has she should get funded nursing care so you can add £155pw to the SS figure but it will have to be a nursing home you pick not a care home and the nursing home will probably expect her to get FNC or they may expect you to cover the costs if she doesn't qualify.
Care home costs are a bit like hotel costs the more you get the more you pay, a home with a cinema room, hairdressers, extensive grounds and all the rest will cost more than somewhere basic and if the person isn't going to appreciate all the frills then they're a bit of a waste, I'd be happier to see the money spent on staff.
My feeling is that you'd be lucky to get a nursing home in the East Midlands for anything less than about £800pw but the skies the limit if you want somewhere posh. Five minutes down the road from me is a home that cost £2,500pw (last time I asked) five minutes up the road the other way there's a home that costs £850pw, one overlooks a golf course the other overlooks a Halfords tyres and exhaust fitters. You can probably guess which is which.
As say first thing is to get the SS to agree they're in agreement that it has to be a care home and what they're willing to contribute and check out Nitram's link to see if you think she'll be eligible for FNC then take it from there.
K
 

Jintyf

Registered User
Jun 14, 2013
47
0
As a guide we are self-funding in Scotland and the fee for Mums nursing home is £1300 per week and social services contribute £253 tf that so Mum pays just under £1000 a week therefore we need to sell her property to fund this. My understanding is that there's no property then it just depends on the costs of the nursing homes which will vary and whether you can afford to top up any social service fund with personal contribution.
Hope this helps.
My advice would certainly be to visit a lot of places to make up your mind as to where your Mum would be happiest.
 

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Thank you for all your replies
I think that mum will have to remain at my home if the fees are anything like £1000 per week!
I will be bankrupt if I have to pay this
Feel so lost and scared as I can’t look after mum properly but also can’t afford these costs
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
You most definitely do not have to pay the fees @Lindie16 . Only the person who is in the care home should pay. If their savings and assets are under £25,000 the Local Authority will be putting money towards their care.

Ask Social Services for a needs assessment and if they agree that your mum needs to be in a care home, then your mum will have a financial assessment to see how much (if anything) she would have to contribute. Only her money will be taken into account, not yours.
 

Lynmax

Registered User
Nov 1, 2016
1,045
0
Make sure you do not agree to pay a top up, once a placement has been deemed necessary, SS have to provide one for your mum which does not require any additional top up - provided of course that your mum is below the self funding level. But as few if any care home accept people at the low level, they might try to put pressure on you to top up the fees. Of course, if you do not like the offered care home, which might not be near to you, and refuse it, you will have to pay a top up.

At least, I think that is how it works, my mum will be self funding as she has savings, a good pension and a house to sell so it's somewhat irrelevant for us.
 

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Thank you
I was worried as the social services told me that I would have to pay a top up.
Mum lives with us however it’s my mortgage etc
I am going to get in contact with SS again on Monday to understand fully what is expected of me - if anything
I have also heard about ‘continuing health care’ assessments.
Is this what I need to ask for?
Thanks again all
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
You can, but it's hardly ever granted. The same assessment though decides about Funded Nursing Care, so it doesn't hurt to request it, but please don't expect too much.
 

Jintyf

Registered User
Jun 14, 2013
47
0
Hi @Lindie16
Please be assured that it only your Mums capital that is taken into account - not yours.
If she is below threshold then the local authority fund the nursing care home. However its best to know in advance that they do only fund up to a certain amount.
For us we need to sell Mums home. I was shocked to find that the amounts that are charged to self funders are usually way in excess of what the local authorities pay.
 

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
Hi @Lindie16

I live in the East Midlands too and last year my dad was paying £564 a week for full time in a carehome. He had other medical conditions so was on regular medication but didn't need a nursing home. I think the nursing homes started from around £750 a week. Dad passed away at the end of last year so prices are probably a bit higher now. But as others have said its your mum who will have to pay and if she can't SS have to find somewhere that they will fund.

A top up is only paid if you want to send your mum somewhere more expensive than the local authority rate.
 

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Thank you so much
Hi @Lindie16

I live in the East Midlands too and last year my dad was paying £564 a week for full time in a carehome. He had other medical conditions so was on regular medication but didn't need a nursing home. I think the nursing homes started from around £750 a week. Dad passed away at the end of last year so prices are probably a bit higher now. But as others have said its your mum who will have to pay and if she can't SS have to find somewhere that they will fund.

A top up is only paid if you want to send your mum somewhere more expensive than the local authority rate.

i am so sorry for your loss
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply x
 

Lindie16

Registered User
Nov 25, 2018
37
0
Hi @Lindie16
Please be assured that it only your Mums capital that is taken into account - not yours.
If she is below threshold then the local authority fund the nursing care home. However its best to know in advance that they do only fund up to a certain amount.
For us we need to sell Mums home. I was shocked to find that the amounts that are charged to self funders are usually way in excess of what the local authorities pay.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply
I have emailed SS today and they have said that they are going to do an assessment next week
Thank you