Dad needs a care home - it's a minefield

[MandLe]

My dad has late stage Alzheimers. He was admitted to hospital 5 weeks ago after a number of falls. He had been cared for at home by my mum until then.
He is doubly incontinent, has virtually no remaining speech, is now unable to walk, assisted or otherwise, is spoon fed and has difficulty chewing (among other things)

Mum fully expected him to come home but was advised last week by OT that this wouldn't be possible. He would need 2 carers 4 times a day plus turning at night due to bed sores. They advised a care home with both nursing and dementia care.

As he is over the £24k threshold he would pay for his care, but all homes approached are asking for proof of ability to pay for 2 years!!!! At £1370 a week. Is this a normal thing? I have googled and cant find anything that's says this is normal.

We are seeking an assessment for continuing healthcare but understand this is a lengthy, complicated process with little chance of success. But in the meantime we seem to be stuck in a situation where we literally have no where for my poor dad to go.

I'd really appreciate any experiences and thoughts.
Thank you

 

[Rosettastone57]

My dad has late stage Alzheimers. He was admitted to hospital 5 weeks ago after a number of falls. He had been cared for at home by my mum until then.
He is doubly incontinent, has virtually no remaining speech, is now unable to walk, assisted or otherwise, is spoon fed and has difficulty chewing (among other things)

Mum fully expected him to come home but was advised last week by OT that this wouldn't be possible. He would need 2 carers 4 times a day plus turning at night due to bed sores. They advised a care home with both nursing and dementia care.

As he is over the £24k threshold he would pay for his care, but all homes approached are asking for proof of ability to pay for 2 years!!!! At £1370 a week. Is this a normal thing? I have googled and cant find anything that's says this is normal.

We are seeking an assessment for continuing healthcare but understand this is a lengthy, complicated process with little chance of success. But in the meantime we seem to be stuck in a situation where we literally have no where for my poor dad to go.

I'd really appreciate any experiences and thoughts.
Thank you

It seems to be fairly standard this was my experience last year when my mother-in-law had to go into a home after a hospital admission. I saw 5 or 6 homes and all of them asked the same question as to how my mother-in-law was going to be funding. She was self-funding and had a property to sell as well as savings. In every case I was asked to fill in a form outlining her financial circumstances and the value of the property that would have to be sold. Her fees were £1,300 a week. I didn't have to provide physical evidence or proof of her funding they simply took my word for it. As she had a property to sell that would have given her about five or six years worth of care home fees I think that probably swung it. One of the questions I asked each care home was what there are protocol was if she ran out of savings and will they accept local authority funders. Some required top up fees but in fact we never got to that stage as my mother-in-law passed away before that

 

[MandLe]

It seems to be fairly standard this was my experience last year when my mother-in-law had to go into a home after a hospital admission. I saw 5 or 6 homes and all of them asked the same question as to how my mother-in-law was going to be funding. She was self-funding and had a property to sell as well as savings. In every case I was asked to fill in a form outlining her financial circumstances and the value of the property that would have to be sold. Her fees were £1,300 a week. I didn't have to provide physical evidence or proof of her funding they simply took my word for it. As she had a property to sell that would have given her about five or six years worth of care home fees I think that probably swung it. One of the questions I asked each care home was what there are protocol was if she ran out of savings and will they accept local authority funders. Some required top up fees but in fact we never got to that stage as my mother-in-law passed away before that

 

[MandLe]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother in law.

I am astonished that this is a question before even discussing needs, but I guess there is going to be an awful lot to learn in this process.

As mum still lives in their house so that cabt be considered, and dad realistically cant fund more thar 8-12 months I have no idea where this leaves us if all homes deny places without this guarantee :-(

 

[nitram]

But in the meantime we seem to be stuck in a situation where we literally have no where for my poor dad to go.

You could ask about intermediate care, also known as reablement.
It is a period of free care of up to 6 weeks designed to get the person back to where they were before an acute event, typically granted on hospital discharge
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalasse...fs76_intermediate_care_and_reablement_fcs.pdf

It is not an outright entitlement, the LA have to make a judgement as to whether or not the 6 weeks of care will result in a considerable improvement.
The LA may not consider it suitable for your dad but never the less no harm in asking, if awarded it could give you 6 weeks of thinking time.

 

[Ray96]

Thats close to £140, 000 for 2 years, seems like such a lot of money, why is it so expensive these days?

 

[Rosalind297]

Our Mum’s chosen home is currently £1200 per week and they ask those with POA to sign a form on entry that she has at least 3 years worth of funds. Mum’s GP has said that she could live another 4-5 years which means well over £300,000 at today’s prices.

@MandLe they don’t ask this until contract signing stage, it isn’t quite as mercenary as it sounds

 

[Splashing About]

This sort of stress over finances is keeping people in hospitals and creating terrible stress.

 

[kindred]

My dad has late stage Alzheimers. He was admitted to hospital 5 weeks ago after a number of falls. He had been cared for at home by my mum until then.
He is doubly incontinent, has virtually no remaining speech, is now unable to walk, assisted or otherwise, is spoon fed and has difficulty chewing (among other things)

Mum fully expected him to come home but was advised last week by OT that this wouldn't be possible. He would need 2 carers 4 times a day plus turning at night due to bed sores. They advised a care home with both nursing and dementia care.

As he is over the £24k threshold he would pay for his care, but all homes approached are asking for proof of ability to pay for 2 years!!!! At £1370 a week. Is this a normal thing? I have googled and cant find anything that's says this is normal.

We are seeking an assessment for continuing healthcare but understand this is a lengthy, complicated process with little chance of success. But in the meantime we seem to be stuck in a situation where we literally have no where for my poor dad to go.

I'd really appreciate any experiences and thoughts.
Thank you

This is a normal amount for a nursing home - you pay extra for the nursing element. Don't give up on the continuing healthcare. Especially as your dad is late stage. Keep a note of all the times/reasons that actual nursing and or medical care would be needed. This is one of the keys to it. He has no mobility, needs to be fed, cannot communicate ...
all of these are important factors for continuing healthcare. They also want to know if his needs are predictable. I got this funding, but a day after my husband died. It was backdated three weeks. I learned quite a lot about the CHC process.
warmest, Kindred.l
all the very best to you and fellow feeling. Kindred.

 

[Sirena]

Sorry to hear about your dad, the stress of trying to find a care home placement must be very worrying.

I have heard that some care homes ask self-funders for proof of ability to pay for 2/3 years. But my mother's care home didn't ask for this, and nor did another one I viewed at the same time. The owner asked how long her funds would last, I said about 3 years and that was the end of the enquiries, it was never referred to again. I think CHs want to ensure funds are not going to run out in a few months and the person will either have to move or there will be a tussle about who is paying. So you depending on how long your dad's funds will last, you may find a home willing to accept him.

(£1300 a week sounds about right for nursing dementia care. My mother is in a non-nursing dementia home which is £800 a week. Her pension plus attendance allowance come to about £1k a month to pay towards that.)

 

[canary]

As he is in hospital will the hospital SW help?