Funding

[Langleys10]

My husband was 53 when diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. He was 56 last month. He was sectioned last November, which became a section 3 in December and he has now been in hospital for almost 5 months. The doctor says he is ready to be discharged so the "discharge coordinator" contacted me and suggested homes for me to look at. I have seen 9 so far, some good, some not so good, and I chose the one closest home, as we have two teenage children still living at home. However, of the 4 homes who went to assess my husband in hospital, the closest was not the cheapest. As my husband will become a section 117 on discharge, the NHS and social services together have to fund his care. The local authority is refusing to fund the home closest to us but instead has said that they will fund the cheapest home which is some miles away. That will mean that our children will not be able to see their father more than once or twice a week. Our son is still at school and our daughter works, so they could only go after she finishes work, but she is 19 and low paid and can't afford the petrol to see him more often. At the moment I see my husband everyday on my way home from work. If he goes to the home they want, I will have a half hour drive the other side of home from work, so an extra 5 hours driving per week, so my actual time with him will be reduced, I will have the extra cost of petrol, not to mention how much more tired I will be. I wrote a long piece about why my husband should be located close to home, in particular that, while he still knows who we are, we need to make the most of our time as a family. He has deteriorated significantly in the last year, and more so in the 5 months since he has been in hospital. Does anyone else have experience of fighting for funding and any suggestions? Thank you

 

[nellbelles]

I wonder if you local carers association has an advocate who could help you fight this?
https://www.actionforcarers.org.uk/getting-help/support-near-you/