Financial Assessment

[RS Tracy]

Hello
My mum went into a care home on the 9th Jan. For the first 4 wks she was classed as short term, then on the 6th Feb she went Permanent. She owns her own home, but for the next 12wks this is being disregarded. I had a phone call today from a gentleman at the social, wanting to do a financial assessment to determine how much my mum has to contribute towards her care. I gave him all the income my mum currently receives which is State Pension, Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and a payment from my late fathers works pension. The gentleman said who would work out how much my mum has to pay and send it to me in an email, along with other information showing how it has been worked out, but il be honest, i dont understand it at all. When I opened the email this is what I had been sent:-

Thank you for completing the recent telephone financial assessment in respect of the residential care service your mother is receiving.

Following completion of your financial assessment, the weekly amount she will be charged is:

£236.77 from 9 January 2019

£190.28 from 21 January 2019

£201.94 from 6 February 2019

I enclose a copy of the financial assessments for your information. Please notify us immediately of any changes in your mother's financial or personal circumstances as this may affect the amount she has to pay.

I may be wrong, but to me this does seem a lot per week, it will leave her with virtually nothing left for herself. Also, when she first went in, for those first 4 wks I was told that I would have to pay a top up fee of £100, which I have since received an invoice for. But looking at what ive been sent in the email, it seems that my mum is being charged again. The first day she went into the care home was 9th Jan, and she became permanent on the 6th Feb.

I may be totally confused here, so I would be grateful if someone could look at this for me and tell me if they think it looks right or not.

Thank you

 

[AliceA]

I feel you need to go to Citizens Advice or Age UK. This situation seems a minefield or perhaps talk to the help line on here.
There are probably others on here who can help you more than I. It is getting late so thought I would answer, good luck.

 

[canary]

When the Local Authority pays the care home fees (which they are doing during the 12 week disregard) they dont actually pay the whole amount. What they do is start with the persons income and then top it up to their maximum - less about £29 for personal expenses. So, they pay their maximum , but they also take pensions, Attendance Allowence etc, leaving the personal allowance. Does this seem about right?

 

[silkiest]

I'm confused as to why the amounts change if her income is stable. Could you ask for clarification re this.
I would also ask the home what their normal fees are so you can assess the difference - try telephone contact as a potential new client if you are concerned their reply could be influenced by knowing your mum has social service involved. We have been looking at homes recently to help us plan for my MIL's future. The fees so far have varied from £600 per month to £850 per month. The most expensive looked like a hotel with onsite hairdressing salon visits included in the price. I don't know if this is typical for prices countrywide or not.

 

[silkiest]

Sorry yes I did

 

[Louise7]

Difficult to know if the figures look right without more information. How much is your Mum's total weekly income?

 

[witts1973]

Do they not ask to look at bank statements?

 

[Sirena]

We have been looking at homes recently to help us plan for my MIL's future. The fees so far have varied from £600 per month to £850 per month. The most expensive looked like a hotel with onsite hairdressing salon visits included in the price. I don't know if this is typical for prices countrywide or not.

It varies by area. We are in the south east and for us £800 is the low end of the scale, the '5 star hotel' type places (cinema, bistro, hairdressing salon etc) are £1100-£1200 a week.