Care homes

[Such confusion]

Hi . My mom has mixed Vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. We share my home and I am her unpaid Carer. She is 94 and is getting progressively worse, to the point I’m considering places her in a Care home. This is due to the fact she won’t accept Carer’s coming into the home so I can’t get out , or go away for a break on my own. I’m mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted suffering Carer’s burnout.
I believe if a person has more than £23000 in their bank account, they have to pay for their own care In a Care home. Is this correct ? Can anyone tell me would it be up to me to pay the Care home on a monthly basis, using mom‘s money ? If so what happens if or when her money runs out ?
I hope someone can answer these questions for me. Thanks in advance.

 

[Sarasa]

Welcome to Dementia Support Forum @Such confusion. Yes if your mum has more than £23,500 in savings she is liable for her care home fees. This explains more about the process of moving someone into care.

Care homes: Who chooses and who pays?

Read our advice and information about choosing and paying for full-time care.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

Do you have Lasting Power of Attorney for your mum? If you do you can register it with her bank and pay fees from her account. If you haven't you'll probably need to apply for Deputyship. This is more of a faff but doable. You might need to apply for an emergency decision about the fees, but that is something I don't have experience of.
This is a very friendly and supportive place and I'm sure others will be along soon with their suggestions.

 

[northumbrian_k]

Hi @Such confusion and welcome to Dementia Support Forum our friendly and helpful community. There comes a point when a person's needs are such that a care home may be the best way to meet them. I know this from direct experience of looking after my wife.

She has now been in a home since May 2019. She had sufficient assets to be self-funding for about 20 months. Now that her assets are below the £23,250 threshold she pays a smaller contribution with the Local Authority making up the balance.

I have Lasting Power of Attorney for both finance & property and health & welfare. Hence I have been able to take over management of her finances and pay care home fees and any other costs. In your Mom's case, if her funds are above the threshold she will be deemed to be self-funding. The practicalities of paying the fees will be dependent upon whether you are legally able to access and manage her money, for example acting as Power of Attorney.

These links might help:

Care homes: When is the right time and who decides?

Advice and practical tips for carers on when is the right time for a person to be moved to a care home.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

Paying for dementia care in England

Dementia care isn't free, and you may need to pay for some of the care you or someone you know needs. We help you understand the different ways to pay for care, and the amount you might be expected to pay.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

 

[Kevinl]

Firstly, who owns the roof over your head, are you joint tenants or Tennant in common.
Without wanting to go on about it too much regulations diff between between all 4 parts of the UK so no point in telling you about regulation in England if the person under is in Scotland or Wales or NI.
Rules differ, don't want an address and postcodew
We might all be a united kingdom, but not when it comes to benefit entitlement.

 

[Sirena]

Hi @Such confusion

So the house is yours, and your mum lives with you? Do you know how much she has in savings?

You are right that if she has more than about £23k she will need to pay for her own care. If you have access to money (e.g. via a POA) then yes you would arrange payments.

When her money goes under £23k, the local authority will start paying towards her care. Your mother will still contribute to fees from her pension and the LA will pay the rest. You need to contact Social Services at least 4 months before her funds get to that point as it takes a while to sort it out, they will do all the calculations for you. My mother self-funded for several years but the LA took over recently, it was surprisingly painless but I gave them plenty of notice.