Is my mum entitled to any financial help with care?

[snowygirl]

I wonder if anyone can help me with this?

last week my sister took my mum who has a dementia to see a consultant in hospital about her ulcerated legs. While she was there mum had a compression bandage put on and her care at home was discussed. Currently, mum has carers every day paid for out of her money by us. My sister says that she was told that on her diagnosis of dementia and because of her problems with her legs(mum is mobile though) that mum should receive money from the SS for a care package despite the fact that she has enough savings to be self-funding. I feel like over the past two years I've gone around and around in circles with this as last time i spoke to SS back in March the minute I let them know that mum was self funding( she has money in excess of £23,000) they said there wasn't anything they could do financially. They could only offer advice. Is it worth me asking them back again for another assessment. It seems pointless if there is no money available for mum, what more can they do that we're not doing already? Dad is in a carehome and is self funding. Thanks

 

[marionq]

She should be receiving Attendance Allowance and council tax relief neither of which are means tested. If she then needs nursing care for her legs etc this would be paid for in Scotland but I don't know about elsewhere in the UK.

 

[snowygirl]

Thanks but she does receive Attendance Allowance and we sorted her council tax quite a while ago. Its the suggested help with carers fees I'm really asking about. I think the person who suggested it to my sister didn't really know what they were talking about. Either that or I've had my head in the sand for the past few years as I've been through this with my dad too and it was never suggested that he was eligible for any money other than AA and the council tax exemption.

 

[Kevinl]

There is a government website where you can do a check on your eligibility for any benefits on the link below, it's pretty simple to use, but I suspect if she's self funding the answer is no, however, it's free to find out.
K

https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

 

[nita]

If her savings are over the threshold she cannot get help with care except if she is eligible for NHS Continuing Health Care. For this she would need an assessment. I believe you can request one for her via her local CCG. She would have to meet certain criteria to obtain the funding which is from the NHS rather than a Local Authority. You can look at the checklist first to see whether she has any chance of qualifying. Her needs must be great and complex to put it in a nutshell. There is a thread on CHC Funding on TP.

This link provides basic information and leads to more.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/eligibility-assessment-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare.aspx

 

[realist1234]

Snowygirl

As I understand it (though I live in NI but I think the systems are basically the same), if your mum requires a care package at home, if she has savings etc of more than the £23,250 limit (the value of her home is ignored), then she wouldnt get any help with the costs of the care package. It would only be once her savings started to go under that limit would she be entitled to any help with the costs. They also take into account your mum's income from pensions etc.

So you should keep an eye on her savings as they reduce.

However, I see that some Councils in England, like Hammersmith, have taken the decision not to charge anyone for care required at home regardless of savings/income, so clearly it all depends who your local council is.

Personally, I would still ask for a formal financial assessment for your mum's care package, or at the very least ensure you have it in writing from the LA that your mum is assessed as self-funding given her level of income and savings. Do not just go by telephone calls!

You also mentioned your dad. Im assuming if your parents had joint accounts, her money is viewed as 50%.

I found a couple of links you might find helpful.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services

Put in your mum's postcode for the relevant info.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/532


Ive been there myself, as have many if not all of the other posters on this forum, so I know how frustrating it all is, not to mention expensive.

All the best and I hope you find the right information!

Peter

 

[carastro]

Whether or not she has the money to be self funding, there is a difference in price between organising private care and the social services organising it and your mum paying.

I am sick to death of the social services washing their hands of people who have over the financial threshold - you still need an assessment, and the proper care being put in place by the social services even if your mum has to pay for it, it will be cheaper than booking care privately.

They refused to come and assess my mum when she needed to go into a Residential Home saying we could organise it ourselves if she was going to be self funding. A year later when her funds went down to the appropriate level they got involved and the social worker then told me that we had a legal right to an assessment regardless of whether she had money, and that the SS had not behaved correctly.

Carole

 

[CCGcrusher]

I wonder if anyone can help me with this?

last week my sister took my mum who has a dementia to see a consultant in hospital about her ulcerated legs. While she was there mum had a compression bandage put on and her care at home was discussed. Currently, mum has carers every day paid for out of her money by us. My sister says that she was told that on her diagnosis of dementia and because of her problems with her legs(mum is mobile though) that mum should receive money from the SS for a care package despite the fact that she has enough savings to be self-funding. I feel like over the past two years I've gone around and around in circles with this as last time i spoke to SS back in March the minute I let them know that mum was self funding( she has money in excess of £23,000) they said there wasn't anything they could do financially. They could only offer advice. Is it worth me asking them back again for another assessment. It seems pointless if there is no money available for mum, what more can they do that we're not doing already? Dad is in a carehome and is self funding. Thanks

Just because your mother is receiving care at home doesn't mean that she is not eligible for any funding. If she is having medical/nursing care she may well be eligible for "Funded Nursing Care" (I can't post links yet- so you will need to look it up).

 

[Kevinl]

Just because your mother is receiving care at home doesn't mean that she is not eligible for any funding. If she is having medical/nursing care she may well be eligible for "Funded Nursing Care" (I can't post links yet- so you will need to look it up).

Is the link?
K

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=75

 

[nitram]

FNC cannot be paid for care at home.