Hello everybody
This is my first post - I hope it's in the right place! My dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia four years ago. Until last year he did well and my mum looked after him at home. They've been married for 54 years. To cut a long story short, dad's condition rapidly worsened and he was sectioned at the end of last year, initially on a section 2 but then section 3. He has now been placed in a nursing home after a trial period and has been discharged. There have been a few issues with dad's behaviours and he has complex needs. The home have requested 1-1 care for him which has been agreed in part by the social services. Nobody has yet spoken to us about the home costs and I've been looking at how my mum would cope financially as she hardly has any pension and they relied on my dad's income which we thought would have to be used to pay for his care. However, in looking into it all I've read about section 117 aftercare and the fact that it's not chargeable. My understanding is that this would apply to my dad's case as his needs are clearly related to his mental health issues. It's also clear that we should have been more involved in some of the decisions that have been taken and should at least have a copy of dad's care plan. Let's just say his social worker is not the best communicator! I'd just like to be clear that my understanding is on track before I seek to clarify that mum and dad won't require a financial assessment as the duty to pay for the care home falls to the social services and the clinical commissioning group? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I think mum is entitled to pension credit to top up her own pension irrespective of how dad's care is being covered? Dad's bank account is separate from my mums but I'm not sure if they'd look at his income in assessing my mum? Does she need to move the direct debits for the house to her bank account now dad's in a home? I haven't got a clue how it all works. Obviously, dad getting the best care to meet his needs is our priority and its all a complete nightmare at the moment as we think they're doping him up too much to manage him rather than securing proper 1-1 care but we're talking to the home about this. I also don't want my mum to have to worry about the finances - she's got enough to think about with dad's care - so I'm trying to understand as much as I can so I can sort it out for her.
Again, any pointers would be much appreciated. I've read a few threads on here and it seems such a supportive and helpful place. Social care seems like such a minefield - not that I'd wish this on anyone but having a pool of people who've been through the pain of caring for loved ones with this cruel condition and who can share their experiences to help others is a small source of comfort.
Sorry if I've waffled on and thanks for your time if you've got this far reading my post!
Many thanks all.
This is my first post - I hope it's in the right place! My dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia four years ago. Until last year he did well and my mum looked after him at home. They've been married for 54 years. To cut a long story short, dad's condition rapidly worsened and he was sectioned at the end of last year, initially on a section 2 but then section 3. He has now been placed in a nursing home after a trial period and has been discharged. There have been a few issues with dad's behaviours and he has complex needs. The home have requested 1-1 care for him which has been agreed in part by the social services. Nobody has yet spoken to us about the home costs and I've been looking at how my mum would cope financially as she hardly has any pension and they relied on my dad's income which we thought would have to be used to pay for his care. However, in looking into it all I've read about section 117 aftercare and the fact that it's not chargeable. My understanding is that this would apply to my dad's case as his needs are clearly related to his mental health issues. It's also clear that we should have been more involved in some of the decisions that have been taken and should at least have a copy of dad's care plan. Let's just say his social worker is not the best communicator! I'd just like to be clear that my understanding is on track before I seek to clarify that mum and dad won't require a financial assessment as the duty to pay for the care home falls to the social services and the clinical commissioning group? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I think mum is entitled to pension credit to top up her own pension irrespective of how dad's care is being covered? Dad's bank account is separate from my mums but I'm not sure if they'd look at his income in assessing my mum? Does she need to move the direct debits for the house to her bank account now dad's in a home? I haven't got a clue how it all works. Obviously, dad getting the best care to meet his needs is our priority and its all a complete nightmare at the moment as we think they're doping him up too much to manage him rather than securing proper 1-1 care but we're talking to the home about this. I also don't want my mum to have to worry about the finances - she's got enough to think about with dad's care - so I'm trying to understand as much as I can so I can sort it out for her.
Again, any pointers would be much appreciated. I've read a few threads on here and it seems such a supportive and helpful place. Social care seems like such a minefield - not that I'd wish this on anyone but having a pool of people who've been through the pain of caring for loved ones with this cruel condition and who can share their experiences to help others is a small source of comfort.
Sorry if I've waffled on and thanks for your time if you've got this far reading my post!
Many thanks all.
