Sorry, daft question....!

[Pickles53]

Indeed nitram, I guess it's hard to believe that the disparity is so great

It is in our area, even though from the figures quoted our LA rates are higher than most on this thread. Almost inevitably homes will have a lower negotiated rate for LA-funded residents than the self-funders pay so that does reduce the apparent discrepancy a bit.

PS Lindy, there is no such thing as a daft question on TP!

 

[cragmaid]

Three years ago, my late Mum went into Residential Care. Yes the Care home dispensed medications, correctly and efficiently...ie the dispenser wore a " Do Not Disturb" tabard and this was enforced.
Now the self-funding fees at this home were roughly one hundred pounds a week dearer than the LA rate...rounded up slightly it was £600 pw rather than £500 ( LA Rate) this was a private home not a council one, and one of a small chain. It had only been open 5 years and was immaculate, modern with nice staff and good facilities. It was also Mum's choice.
Mum had only her state pension, AA and Pension Credit and her small (approx £10K) savings and her house, valued at £125,000.

Mum entered into a deferred payment scheme with the LA. The LA paid their amount and she paid the rest to make it up to the full rate.

When her house was sold, she lost her Pension Credit and retained her AA and paid the full cost herself. By the time she died in February this year her fees were roughly £ 680. per week.

She had been permitted to go to this home because it was only a quarter of a mile or so from her front door and as she was blind she was familiar with the surroundings of this home. also she had a strong link with the area due to her Church and her elderly friends all lived in the area therefore could visit her, thus it met her spiritual and social needs.

We were fotunate that the LA approved of this move otherwise I would have had to sell her home before she could go into residential care. I also understand how lucky we were that the costs of Residential Care in Tyne and Wear were not exorbitant. I cannot understand how some homes can charge 3 or 4 times what we paid.....greed perhaps?
Anyway...I hope this helps a bit.

 

[Lindy50]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful answers......I am avidly reading and am sorry not to reply individually

Cragmaid, I am so pleased you found such a good place for your mum. It's no more than our mums deserve, after all.....

Pickles, you're very kind, but I did feel it was a daft question, as the answer revolved around varying LA rates around the country

Am busy hitting the phones again and so far haven't found a single place that accepts LA funding. They all want top ups of £400 a week. So it's back to adult social care. Apparently mum's case is now in the urgent tray for allocation and I'm waiting for them to phone me back. As someone said earlier, IF they assess her as needing residential care, they MUST have to cut this Gordian knot re funding

I think though that part of the delay is that mum doesn't have any property, so they know (as I do re any possible top up) that they'd be committing funds with no foreseeable end to the arrangement ....

Thanks again all xx

 

[daisydi]

Can somebody in social services not give you a list of LA funded homes then you can go and have a look and maybe put her name down if you find one you like. My mum was attending her home as day care about a year before she went in permanently and she was very familiar with it so social services agreed that she could stay there. I dont think it is much more expensive than a LA home but I am now having problems in that they want to keep her in a shared room and we want her to have her own room. We have backed down so far but now I am adamant that we give it a try. I suspect that this is all about funding but when we had her best interest meeting from the very beginning I wanted her to have her own room and the personal budget allows for this and we would have to pay an even bigger top up but the house where she was living which belongs to my sister and I is now rented and we will pay the top up out of those funds. It is such a minefield but all we are trying to do is look after our mum and make sure she is happy and comfortable with her own things around her. Good luck!

 

[Lindy50]

I can't see why your mum shouldn't have a single room, daisydi. It's 'industry standard' these days, as far as I know all new homes are built with this assumption. And as you can pay for the top up, too.....Stick to your guns

Lindy xx

 

[daisydi]

I can't see why your mum shouldn't have a single room, daisydi. It's 'industry standard' these days, as far as I know all new homes are built with this assumption. And as you can pay for the top up, too.....Stick to your guns

Lindy xx

Yes I am determined to give it a try. She is on the waiting list for a single room but the staff think it is a bad idea as she is used to going to her room and they think it will really confuse her. I totally understand that but as I said to them that shared room was where she went in for respite back in January for a week and she never came home. It seems too temporary and none of her things are around her. I know it will be hard but she could go on for years and I want her to have some memory of her life before care home with some of her things around her. The room is so small for two people. I have only been able to take a couple of photos in. They also say she may feel vulnerable on her own. It is really worrying me but I really feel we should give it a try sooner rather than later.

 

[Lindy50]

I can see the staff's point, daisydi, but I would bear in mind that they may feel they have to have someone in the shared room, otherwise it becomes a single, they have one less resident and their budgeting goes to pot!! At the moment, your mum is keeping the numbers balanced .....

I'd say it's worth trying a single room for your mum. It would also allow you as a family to retain a clearer sense of her and to visit her in her own space.

Also what if she's taken ill? She might really need some peace and quiet then ....

Good luck

Lindy xx

 

[daisydi]

I can see the staff's point, daisydi, but I would bear in mind that they may feel they have to have someone in the shared room, otherwise it becomes a single, they have one less resident and their budgeting goes to pot!! At the moment, your mum is keeping the numbers balanced .....

I'd say it's worth trying a single room for your mum. It would also allow you as a family to retain a clearer sense of her and to visit her in her own space.

Also what if she's taken ill? She might really need some peace and quiet then ....

Good luck

Lindy xx

Thank you. My sister doesn't like to visit as she cannot tolerate the surroundings. On Sunday one of the other residents led us to his room with mum, shut the door, had the tv on and mum was very happy and my sister felt much more comfortable. It did feel so much better as we could detach ourselves from the care home for a while. I dont want to confuse my mum but I think it will be better in the long term if we all make a big effort to make it work. I have told my sister that she will have to spend more time with mum to get her used to the room. Just have to wait for a vacancy now!

 

[theunknown]

We moved my mum out of her local area. Friends and family are all in Yorkshire but in different counties, so she's now in a home about 9 miles from us. Her LA contributes their local rate, which is £473. My mum needs EMI care and there are only two LA homes in our city which provide that. I wasn't happy with either of them. The home we found charges £900 pw (remember, this is Yorkshire), and that seems to be not an unusual fee here. Because I have no PoA and am going through the CoP my husband's currently topping up the money for the fees. He's only able to do this, for now, because he sold some shares. When we get permission from the court we'll sell my mum's home.

My sister and I are my mum's only beneficiaries, so my husband will eventually get his money back. Of course, in reality, my sister and I are funding the care because the money will be taken out of my mum's estate. We agree (thank God) that it's my mum's money, and it should go on care for her, not on an inheritence for us. I know realistically that my mum's no longer able to focus on or think about the environment she's in, but I am, and I like the home.

The manager told me that the funding issue for caring is a minefield and we've experienced that. The NHS want the Social Services budget to pay; the Social Services want the fees to come out of the NHS budget. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing. My mum went from hospital to the care home, so theoretically the NHS should be paying the full fee, but they're not contributing anything. The LAs don't liaise with other LAs, and the rules seem to change from county to county.

Unfortunately, I think the situation is only going to get more complicated for those of us dealing with it. In my case I was never allowed the option of having my mum move in with us, so I had to find a home. There are more changes coming in and the whole framework is fragmented between various departments. This is such an important social issue and it infuriates me that it's politicians who will never have to worry about finding the money to pay for care who are making the policies that affect so many people.

 

[Lindy50]

It is incredibly complicated, isn't it?

There are no LA run homes in this area, they were all sold off to the private sector years ago, so it's a case of finding a private home that will accept LA funding. Very few have the incentive to do so as its a comparatively well-off part of the country, where lots of older people either have good incomes, or properties to sell. As there are insufficient places overall, if you are only able to offer £473 per week you're in for a very bumpy ride indeed. Which is mum's situation currently.....

First, though, we have to get an assessment done. If that assessment concludes that she can be maintained at home with domiciliary care, assistive technology like falls sensors and so on, then residential care will be out of the question, however unhappy or unstimulated she may be.

Given the funding implications, it'll be a miracle if a SW assessment concludes that residential care is necessary (by which they'll mean unavoidable, rather than desirable).

Reminder to self: keep cheerful!

Lindy xx

 

[Pete R]

Lindy50,
In theory there should be no fixed rate any more. Each person should be assessed for needs and treated individually. In practice though it seems the old "A List" rates (last years) are still being used.

As there are now very few, if any at all, LA run homes, they have "deals" with private run homes. Your knowledge of that cost is fairly irrelevant. They only have to be able to provide you with the name of one in your LA area. If you do not like it then it is homes with a top up and the LA will probably then revert back to their old rate.

I have various battles on going with my LA and one of them is about the rate. Here it is only £410 (same for last 3 years). They are very determined not to pay more. They provided details of one home they would pay for, which was a shared room, which I did not like. The shared room was the only room available at the time but if I wanted to move Mom to a single room when available I would have to pay a top up.

I found a wonderful home just over the border of the LA. The LA are obliged under the New Care Act, if it meets my Mom's needs, to accept this home and to take into consideration if the homes in that area cost more. They do cost more and the old fixed rate here was £460. They have refused to fund any more. The top up is over £500/week. The fight goes on.

Sorry it sounds a bit "negative" but it appears I have a very awkward LA. From the old rates Pickles53 gave me his LA seems to be more enlightened. I do hope yours is too.

 

[Lindy50]

I'm sorry you are having such battles, Pete. I don't feel you're sounding negative - unfortunately I think I may have similar battles on my hands

I think part of my frustration (being at a different point in the process to you) is that I was trying to anticipate a possible placement for mum by looking around homes and getting a 'feel' for them, prior to mum's actual needs assessment (sometime in July, I hope). This is advice frequently given on TP, but it is of course of limited value if you are reliant on LA funding.

For me there is a further emotional twist to this, in that up to approx 12 years ago, I worked in adult services and arranged placements for clients at around two per week! I don't think that would be possible now. Some of the care home managers remember me from those days, and there is a distinct sense of embarrassment on their part, when they have to even refuse to even consider mum, on financial grounds. ("We're really sorry, Lindy, you know we'd help if we could" )

Good luck with your battles Pete and everyone else struggling to force the system to meet the needs of their loved ones.

Lindy xx