I have some questions about the funding of residential care and would be grateful if anyone could answer these.
1) I have been reading about 117 of the mental health act and the duty of local authorities to pay for care. The quote is:-
“Section 117 aftercare means that if a patient needs to move from hospital to a care home, their care home fees must be paid for. To be admitted under section 3, their illness must cause them to pose a risk to their own health or safety, or to that of others.”
Does this still apply if the person is coming straight from home and not hospital, particularly as they can still be considered a danger to themselves and others?
2) My mother and step father live in rented property. My mother has a very small pension and around £6,000 in savings. Her husband has his state pension, a moderate occupational pension and not many savings either. My mother will definitely have her care paid for by the local authority BUT, there seems to be a cap on it to slightly less than £600 a week. There are homes that will take her for this amount, however, there will be a greater choice of homes if the family is prepared to top up the amount. My step-father cannot afford to do this. He earns enough to pay some tax, but needs all his money to pay the rent and other daily living costs. The rest of us although comfortable, are not rich and have to think that any savings we have may be needed for our care when we get older, especially as there is likely to be a lot less available in the future. Does not the local authority have an obligation to pay for care if it is difficult to find a home for the capped amount?
3) Am I right in saying that the amount the local authority is prepared to pay differs from region to region and is also different in England, Scotland and Wales?
It seems to me there are a lot of grey areas on this subject and not a lot of fairness.
1) I have been reading about 117 of the mental health act and the duty of local authorities to pay for care. The quote is:-
“Section 117 aftercare means that if a patient needs to move from hospital to a care home, their care home fees must be paid for. To be admitted under section 3, their illness must cause them to pose a risk to their own health or safety, or to that of others.”
Does this still apply if the person is coming straight from home and not hospital, particularly as they can still be considered a danger to themselves and others?
2) My mother and step father live in rented property. My mother has a very small pension and around £6,000 in savings. Her husband has his state pension, a moderate occupational pension and not many savings either. My mother will definitely have her care paid for by the local authority BUT, there seems to be a cap on it to slightly less than £600 a week. There are homes that will take her for this amount, however, there will be a greater choice of homes if the family is prepared to top up the amount. My step-father cannot afford to do this. He earns enough to pay some tax, but needs all his money to pay the rent and other daily living costs. The rest of us although comfortable, are not rich and have to think that any savings we have may be needed for our care when we get older, especially as there is likely to be a lot less available in the future. Does not the local authority have an obligation to pay for care if it is difficult to find a home for the capped amount?
3) Am I right in saying that the amount the local authority is prepared to pay differs from region to region and is also different in England, Scotland and Wales?
It seems to me there are a lot of grey areas on this subject and not a lot of fairness.