Why does a care home not reduce fees if you get FNC?
- Thread starter Max68
- Start date
The CMA ( Competitions and Markets Authority ) publication "UK Care Home Providers for older people - Advice on Consumer Law. Helping Care Homes comply with their consumer law obligations. Dec 2021" is worth reading for anyone about to enter into a care home contract or has an issue with any contractual term. There is a section on FNC.
As you say what your mum's care home has done is in effect increase her fees by £800+ once she was found eligible for FNC without giving you any justification of why there was an increase in fees. In my view if the home is not able to justify that increase by showing you what additional nursing care she is getting over and above what she was getting prior to receipt of FNC the care home should be reducing the monthly amount they are charging by that amount or refunding it. Have you seen any care plans prepared by the home ? The plans should spell out the amount/type of nursing care being received. Was there any change to the care plan once FNC was received setting out an increase/change in nursing care being provided?
I have an ongoing complaint with Devon ICB in respect of FNC. It is standard practice as I understand it for FNC to be paid 2 weeks in arrears direct to care homes although nobody tells you that it is paid two weeks in arrears when FNC is awarded. When my late father was eligible for FNC the care home would only refund that amount at the end of each month. This meant the full fees had to be paid upfront and then we had to wait several weeks for the amount equivalent to FNC to be refunded. This seems unfair, although certainly not on a par with what is happening to your mum. FNC is meant to cover nursing services such as catheter changes that would be carried out by Distinct Nurses "free of charge" if my father had been living at home. Why does someone in a care home who is eligible for FNC have to pay upfront for those nursing services and wait several weeks for a refund? The care home justified it on the basis that they often received the FNC payment late from the NHS and weren't willing to provide a refund until that money had been received from the NHS.
Just a note to say when my late father, a self funder , was in a care home ( in England) and receiving FNC he still received AA. Both FNC and AA stopped once he was subsequently found eligible for CHC funding.
My late mother in law received CHC funding whist remaining in her own home ( in England) - she was still eligible for AA as well as CHC funding. FNC was not relevant as this can only be paid direct to a care home and not relevant to someone living at home who could receive eg visits and care by District Nurses.
As you say what your mum's care home has done is in effect increase her fees by £800+ once she was found eligible for FNC without giving you any justification of why there was an increase in fees. In my view if the home is not able to justify that increase by showing you what additional nursing care she is getting over and above what she was getting prior to receipt of FNC the care home should be reducing the monthly amount they are charging by that amount or refunding it. Have you seen any care plans prepared by the home ? The plans should spell out the amount/type of nursing care being received. Was there any change to the care plan once FNC was received setting out an increase/change in nursing care being provided?
I have an ongoing complaint with Devon ICB in respect of FNC. It is standard practice as I understand it for FNC to be paid 2 weeks in arrears direct to care homes although nobody tells you that it is paid two weeks in arrears when FNC is awarded. When my late father was eligible for FNC the care home would only refund that amount at the end of each month. This meant the full fees had to be paid upfront and then we had to wait several weeks for the amount equivalent to FNC to be refunded. This seems unfair, although certainly not on a par with what is happening to your mum. FNC is meant to cover nursing services such as catheter changes that would be carried out by Distinct Nurses "free of charge" if my father had been living at home. Why does someone in a care home who is eligible for FNC have to pay upfront for those nursing services and wait several weeks for a refund? The care home justified it on the basis that they often received the FNC payment late from the NHS and weren't willing to provide a refund until that money had been received from the NHS.
Just a note to say when my late father, a self funder , was in a care home ( in England) and receiving FNC he still received AA. Both FNC and AA stopped once he was subsequently found eligible for CHC funding.
My late mother in law received CHC funding whist remaining in her own home ( in England) - she was still eligible for AA as well as CHC funding. FNC was not relevant as this can only be paid direct to a care home and not relevant to someone living at home who could receive eg visits and care by District Nurses.
Gordon, Re AA in Scotland on my research it suggested something about Personal Care in Scotland being the reason for AA being stopped, can't remember the page as I have had so many open but far from clear on any of it!!
Re FNC. In my case mum is in a nursing home with dementia, so by logic she receives nursing care purely by going by the name! She is under the nursing team. Several phone calls have been made to myself by the nursing team after conversations with the GP re medication, vaccinations, etc, so she receives nursing care by the in house nursing team by default. I could understand it if she was in a Care Home and FNC covered nursing care by a visiting nurse as it is an "additional extra" but she has been receiving nursing care since she went in, hence why we chose it because a care home couldn't cope with her needs. The same point would be if the Home had come to me and said mum was requiring more needs and they would have to increase her fees, but instead had put forward FNC. They never did though, the assessment was put forward by myself so logic again suggests that if I had never mentioned it mum would be cared for the same way as she was pre assessment. So in my humble opinion the Home is receiving an extra £209 per week for exactly the same care as previously.
Re FNC. In my case mum is in a nursing home with dementia, so by logic she receives nursing care purely by going by the name! She is under the nursing team. Several phone calls have been made to myself by the nursing team after conversations with the GP re medication, vaccinations, etc, so she receives nursing care by the in house nursing team by default. I could understand it if she was in a Care Home and FNC covered nursing care by a visiting nurse as it is an "additional extra" but she has been receiving nursing care since she went in, hence why we chose it because a care home couldn't cope with her needs. The same point would be if the Home had come to me and said mum was requiring more needs and they would have to increase her fees, but instead had put forward FNC. They never did though, the assessment was put forward by myself so logic again suggests that if I had never mentioned it mum would be cared for the same way as she was pre assessment. So in my humble opinion the Home is receiving an extra £209 per week for exactly the same care as previously.
Thanks Netty that's exactly oddly enough my argument in my post which was only a few minutes ago.
Only care plan I know of was a form we filled in on behalf of mum re her future care and wishes, although there may be something the home has. It's easy to say in hindsight that as relatives we should insist on the contract being transparent and breakdowns being shown on bills but in reality you trust the home. We aren't experts and we don't insist a painter and decorator breaks down how many paint brushes he has gone through or how many times he has had to walk up the stairs. A simple bill for painting rooms A, B and C with a daily rate will suffice.
This is the letter I am going to send the home, obviously with personal bits excluded. I ran it past some friends and the guy at The Relatives Association and it's been agreed that it is as polite as it can be without being accusatory.
Again if anyone wants to use as a template please do.
Dear ****,
Hoping that you may be able to advise.
At my request and arranged by yourselves Mum had an assessment by West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups on 6th October 2022 and whilst was deemed not eligible for Continuing Health Care Funding, she was eligible for Funded Nursing Care of which she was awarded the national rate of £209.19 per week paid directly to the nursing home. This covers the cost of her registered nursing care needs.
Mum’s welcome letter back in 2019 states “Please also find enclosed our invoice in respect of nursing fees for Mrs **** covering the period 12th June to 30th June 2019.” The invoice that Mum has received ever since her entering the home back in 2019 shows under the description “To nursing fees due in respect of Mrs ******** at (currently) £**** per week.” The contract also states that “Private Nursing Fees are quoted Gross excluding Funded Nursing care” etc Paragraph 2a.
So now Mum, or The Home is receiving Funded Nursing Care at the amount stated above I am a bit confused as to why her monthly bill is not being reduced to reflect this additional premium the home is now receiving?
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman seems to suggest best practice is to refund the difference in fees. (Document attached.)
Obviously as mum’s POA it’s my responsibility to make sure mum’s finances are spent for her benefit so I would really appreciate any clarification on this, and it also would be helpful if you could forward a full breakdown in fees and what they fully cover.
Thank you for your help.
Only care plan I know of was a form we filled in on behalf of mum re her future care and wishes, although there may be something the home has. It's easy to say in hindsight that as relatives we should insist on the contract being transparent and breakdowns being shown on bills but in reality you trust the home. We aren't experts and we don't insist a painter and decorator breaks down how many paint brushes he has gone through or how many times he has had to walk up the stairs. A simple bill for painting rooms A, B and C with a daily rate will suffice.
This is the letter I am going to send the home, obviously with personal bits excluded. I ran it past some friends and the guy at The Relatives Association and it's been agreed that it is as polite as it can be without being accusatory.
Again if anyone wants to use as a template please do.
Dear ****,
Hoping that you may be able to advise.
At my request and arranged by yourselves Mum had an assessment by West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups on 6th October 2022 and whilst was deemed not eligible for Continuing Health Care Funding, she was eligible for Funded Nursing Care of which she was awarded the national rate of £209.19 per week paid directly to the nursing home. This covers the cost of her registered nursing care needs.
Mum’s welcome letter back in 2019 states “Please also find enclosed our invoice in respect of nursing fees for Mrs **** covering the period 12th June to 30th June 2019.” The invoice that Mum has received ever since her entering the home back in 2019 shows under the description “To nursing fees due in respect of Mrs ******** at (currently) £**** per week.” The contract also states that “Private Nursing Fees are quoted Gross excluding Funded Nursing care” etc Paragraph 2a.
So now Mum, or The Home is receiving Funded Nursing Care at the amount stated above I am a bit confused as to why her monthly bill is not being reduced to reflect this additional premium the home is now receiving?
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman seems to suggest best practice is to refund the difference in fees. (Document attached.)
Obviously as mum’s POA it’s my responsibility to make sure mum’s finances are spent for her benefit so I would really appreciate any clarification on this, and it also would be helpful if you could forward a full breakdown in fees and what they fully cover.
Thank you for your help.
Hi All, Well I received this reply from the home. Not sure if all is what is said is correct but as stated before there is no legal requirement with this issue so I am not sure on how to proceed.
If I am honest I am tempted to just accept the offer and let the matter rest, especially as there isn't a legal requirement for the home to reimburse the £800 per month FNC. My only other option is to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman but to be honest they have been pretty useless so far, in fact all the "bodies" with regard to social care haven't got a scooby on this issue. If I complain on something that isn't a legal requirement then a. you lose the offer outlined below b. you sever a decent relationship with the home and c. there is no guarantee that you would succeed anyway. In that case mum then pays the increased fees from April and still doesn't get the £800 per month refund.
If it had been a legal requirement then I would probably take it further, but as none of the governing bodies seem much help then there isn't anyone who would be able to take this on. I think my best bet is to just accept the offer and contact my MP asking them to look into making this a legal requirement in future or at the very least create some clear legislation on what the homes are meant to do.
I used to run a football league and the Football Association created a Standard Code of Rules which every single League in the country had to adhere to. Yes there were gaps where each League could add specific preferences but the general rules had to be adhered to by all. I am surprised this is not used with regard to care/nursing home contracts, a specific government regulated set of rules that all homes should adhere to, inclining black and white guidance on what happens with FNC payments. Then at least relatives would be able to find an answer with a click of a button rather than ringing around the houses looking for an answer that no-one seems to have.
If anyone thinks I should challenge the home on this reply I would be interested o hear from you.
Dear ***,
*** and *** have passed your email to me, so I wanted to take the opportunity to explain how the fees at ******** are calculated.
I appreciate that “Funding Nursing Care” or “FNC” payments can be confusing and I am revising the current Resident Contract to make it clearer in the future.
The existing contract for ********* does state the following :
Private Nursing fees are quoted gross excluding funded nursing care and are required to be paid gross by the resident. The funded nursing care element of the fee is paid to the care home from the Primary Care Trust (PCT).
It could be clearer as this payment is in addition to the standard weekly nursing fee and is not deducted, and therefore I apologise if this was not explained to you when ******* first arrived.
The NHS pays FNC direct to Nursing Homes to support residents with additional clinical needs if they become more dependent and require more nursing assistance.
In some cases the NHS will pay all of the fee if Continuing Health Care or CHC funding is approved, however as you know, this is difficult to achieve.
The NHS does recognise that in such cases FNC may be appropriate and decide that this can be paid.
At *********we do have residents who require Nursing Care but do not receive FNC or CHC.
When the NHS first agreed to provide FNC for some residents, the intention was that this was always passed on directly to Nursing Homes despite what the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsmen may say.
This said, I do appreciate that the contract could be clearer and therefore I am prepared to “freeze” the standard weekly fee of £****** for the next 12 months (from April 2023).
I am reviewing weekly fees at present and it is likely that they will increase by 10% from 01/04/23 for all other residents, so there will be a net saving of £****** per week.
I hope this is acceptable, however if you wish to discuss further in person, do let me know.
Kind regards
If I am honest I am tempted to just accept the offer and let the matter rest, especially as there isn't a legal requirement for the home to reimburse the £800 per month FNC. My only other option is to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman but to be honest they have been pretty useless so far, in fact all the "bodies" with regard to social care haven't got a scooby on this issue. If I complain on something that isn't a legal requirement then a. you lose the offer outlined below b. you sever a decent relationship with the home and c. there is no guarantee that you would succeed anyway. In that case mum then pays the increased fees from April and still doesn't get the £800 per month refund.
If it had been a legal requirement then I would probably take it further, but as none of the governing bodies seem much help then there isn't anyone who would be able to take this on. I think my best bet is to just accept the offer and contact my MP asking them to look into making this a legal requirement in future or at the very least create some clear legislation on what the homes are meant to do.
I used to run a football league and the Football Association created a Standard Code of Rules which every single League in the country had to adhere to. Yes there were gaps where each League could add specific preferences but the general rules had to be adhered to by all. I am surprised this is not used with regard to care/nursing home contracts, a specific government regulated set of rules that all homes should adhere to, inclining black and white guidance on what happens with FNC payments. Then at least relatives would be able to find an answer with a click of a button rather than ringing around the houses looking for an answer that no-one seems to have.
If anyone thinks I should challenge the home on this reply I would be interested o hear from you.
Dear ***,
*** and *** have passed your email to me, so I wanted to take the opportunity to explain how the fees at ******** are calculated.
I appreciate that “Funding Nursing Care” or “FNC” payments can be confusing and I am revising the current Resident Contract to make it clearer in the future.
The existing contract for ********* does state the following :
Private Nursing fees are quoted gross excluding funded nursing care and are required to be paid gross by the resident. The funded nursing care element of the fee is paid to the care home from the Primary Care Trust (PCT).
It could be clearer as this payment is in addition to the standard weekly nursing fee and is not deducted, and therefore I apologise if this was not explained to you when ******* first arrived.
The NHS pays FNC direct to Nursing Homes to support residents with additional clinical needs if they become more dependent and require more nursing assistance.
In some cases the NHS will pay all of the fee if Continuing Health Care or CHC funding is approved, however as you know, this is difficult to achieve.
The NHS does recognise that in such cases FNC may be appropriate and decide that this can be paid.
At *********we do have residents who require Nursing Care but do not receive FNC or CHC.
When the NHS first agreed to provide FNC for some residents, the intention was that this was always passed on directly to Nursing Homes despite what the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsmen may say.
This said, I do appreciate that the contract could be clearer and therefore I am prepared to “freeze” the standard weekly fee of £****** for the next 12 months (from April 2023).
I am reviewing weekly fees at present and it is likely that they will increase by 10% from 01/04/23 for all other residents, so there will be a net saving of £****** per week.
I hope this is acceptable, however if you wish to discuss further in person, do let me know.
Kind regards
Update is I got a call back from the Attendance Allowance people, and their position is that the statement:-
www.gov.uk
means that if you get any funding towards the care home costs (in my Mum's case the Funded Nursing Care) then you are not eligible for Attendance Allowance
That does seem clear, although they could clarify further by saying af iget any funding towards the care home costs, you are not eligible for attendance allowance.
Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance helps pay for your personal care if you've reached State Pension age and are disabled - rates, eligibility, apply, claim form AA1.
If you’re in a care home
You cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority. You can still claim Attendance Allowance if you pay for all your care home costs yourself.means that if you get any funding towards the care home costs (in my Mum's case the Funded Nursing Care) then you are not eligible for Attendance Allowance
That does seem clear, although they could clarify further by saying af iget any funding towards the care home costs, you are not eligible for attendance allowance.
This would seem to be saying that if you get any help towards funding the care home, you will no longer get AA. OK, but you're NOT getting 'help' if the FNC is paid direct to the care home and they are not deducting it from the weekly rate. In effect, the care home are saying 'We need the weekly rate you were paying before AND the FNC money in order to meet your mother's nursing care needs.' In which case, they really need to justify what they're spending the extra £200 per week on.
It would make sense to stop the AA if the care home were deducting the FNC from the fees you pay because then you would be receiving help with the fees via FNC. (If that makes sense.)
If the care home are keeping all the FNC, surely you'd have a good case for continuing to claim AA?
Interesting I called DWP Attendance Allowance and the advisor plus her manager said to me that if you are in a care/nursing home and self fund then you can no longer claim Attendance Allowance if you are in receipt of CHC but you can still claim Attendance Allowance if you are in receipt of FNC seemingly "regardless" if a home passes on CHC or FNC. I took a note of their names and time of call as they record and she also made a note that I requested her to do in case it comes up in the future that they were wrong.,
Also read this on many a site - "FNC does not affect your entitlement to Attendance Allowance, however it's always best to double check your payments as it has been known for government employees to confuse FNC with NHS Continuing Healthcare and, as a result, stop paying Attendance Allowance."
Also read this on many a site - "FNC does not affect your entitlement to Attendance Allowance, however it's always best to double check your payments as it has been known for government employees to confuse FNC with NHS Continuing Healthcare and, as a result, stop paying Attendance Allowance."
Last edited:
Just an update. I have been receiving free guidance from a Law Clinic regarding this wishy washy issue of whether a home should pass on a reduction after a resident receives FNC. The consensus is that they should but they get away with a loophole with how their contracts are worded. We have worked out that if a home has 20 odd residents on FNC but the home do not pass that on it's an extra £160,000 a year odd that the home receives extra and unless you get an itemised bill, then no-one, not even the NHS knows how and where this money has been spent, especially if like me your relative is receiving EXACTLY the same care post assessment than they did prior to assessment. If say 100 homes in the country are doing this then that £16,000,000 in FNC that is being taken by care homes and not passed on to residents.
I have also contacted my MP and am also in discussion with a charity called Find Others where we are looking to get a campaign out there for some sort of legislation, or at the very least awareness. This now becomes a case of an extra question to ask when you ae looking for a new home for your relative. "Does that home pass on a reduction on a bill when that resident gains FNC". Relatives should at the very least be able to access this information at the press of a button on Google.
I have also contacted my MP and am also in discussion with a charity called Find Others where we are looking to get a campaign out there for some sort of legislation, or at the very least awareness. This now becomes a case of an extra question to ask when you ae looking for a new home for your relative. "Does that home pass on a reduction on a bill when that resident gains FNC". Relatives should at the very least be able to access this information at the press of a button on Google.
Hi @Max68 thank you for pursuing this and posting about it. I really hope you get some action and a definitve answer to this. There seems to be a culture in care homes of taking what they can and obfuscating when asked about it!
When mum was in a home, they had two rates - one for residential and the other for 'nursing'. There was a nurse on site 24/7 but everyone would have received help/treatment if necessary. Mum was considered to be 'residential' as she had no health concerns or medical needs, was mobile and could do most things herself. After mum had been there a couple of months they told me mum would have to moved to the 'nursing' rate due to her behaviour which was... shall we say, difficult at times! There was no actual move involved as the residents were mixed over 2 floors. She was cared for by exactly the same staff (so she received the same care) and no nursing was involved whatsoever. However, she was charged £100 per week more from then on.
When I asked for a full explanation from the manager I was told it was because mum required more staff supervision. OK, I get that. Sometimes it would take a couple of people to stop her trying to smash the door down and re-direct her to something more peaceful but I just couldn't see that she was getting £100 pw of 'extra care'. And as I say, there was no nursing at all.
I had to accept it because it seemed to be, 'Pay up or sling your hook,' and I was happy with the care home generally. Despite mum's behaviour (she was often up and running round the place at night, going in rooms and shouting) they managed her really well and without drugs. I'd chosen the place because they catered for all levels, till end of life and the last thing I wanted was to have to move mum elsewhere. But I always felt the extra £100 was something they demanded 'because they could'. (They often charged for hairdressing she hadn't had - even one time when the hairdresser was on holiday! Fortunately I was there often so I knew if she'd had it done or not and passed this info to my brother who was looking after the money. When he checked the invoices we found mum was charged every week for a wash and set and every other week for a cut! I took them to task over this and we got the money back but only because I queried it. The admin lady said, 'Oh sorry - it must have been a mistake!' Yeah, right! I bet they did that with everyone as standard procedure knowing they'd only have to refund if challenged and otherwise it was a nice little earner for them...)
The woman in the room next door got her place for £200 per week less, not because she was easy (she was worse than mum!) but because she was council funded, so mum was subsidizing her place as well as paying for her own
When mum was in a home, they had two rates - one for residential and the other for 'nursing'. There was a nurse on site 24/7 but everyone would have received help/treatment if necessary. Mum was considered to be 'residential' as she had no health concerns or medical needs, was mobile and could do most things herself. After mum had been there a couple of months they told me mum would have to moved to the 'nursing' rate due to her behaviour which was... shall we say, difficult at times! There was no actual move involved as the residents were mixed over 2 floors. She was cared for by exactly the same staff (so she received the same care) and no nursing was involved whatsoever. However, she was charged £100 per week more from then on.
When I asked for a full explanation from the manager I was told it was because mum required more staff supervision. OK, I get that. Sometimes it would take a couple of people to stop her trying to smash the door down and re-direct her to something more peaceful but I just couldn't see that she was getting £100 pw of 'extra care'. And as I say, there was no nursing at all.
I had to accept it because it seemed to be, 'Pay up or sling your hook,' and I was happy with the care home generally. Despite mum's behaviour (she was often up and running round the place at night, going in rooms and shouting) they managed her really well and without drugs. I'd chosen the place because they catered for all levels, till end of life and the last thing I wanted was to have to move mum elsewhere. But I always felt the extra £100 was something they demanded 'because they could'. (They often charged for hairdressing she hadn't had - even one time when the hairdresser was on holiday! Fortunately I was there often so I knew if she'd had it done or not and passed this info to my brother who was looking after the money. When he checked the invoices we found mum was charged every week for a wash and set and every other week for a cut! I took them to task over this and we got the money back but only because I queried it. The admin lady said, 'Oh sorry - it must have been a mistake!' Yeah, right! I bet they did that with everyone as standard procedure knowing they'd only have to refund if challenged and otherwise it was a nice little earner for them...)
The woman in the room next door got her place for £200 per week less, not because she was easy (she was worse than mum!) but because she was council funded, so mum was subsidizing her place as well as paying for her own
Jaded - Yep it seems to be a familiar story sadly and I think half the problem is many homes seem not to do "itemised bills". When mum's next bill comes through and it's not itemised as I have asked for then I will ask again because like your mum, my mum has been receiving nursing care, that's what she has been paying for, so that's why I am querying non refunding of FNC. If they do eventually send an itemised bill with say £800 paid by the authority under Funded Nursing Care, if there is no other nursing care on the bill that mum is paying for then I will query what she has been paying for for the last four years, because so they don't shoot themselves in the foot they can't charge nursing care twice, unless they are clever and put down "Basic Nursing Care = £xyz paid by the resident" plus "FNC £800 paid by the authority". That's what I would do!!
They created this themselves because they didn't arrange the assessment, I did. If they had come to me and said your mum is no longer mobile blah blah, and we need to charge her £800 a month more, BUT we can get that £800 from the NHS then fine. However, I asked for the assessment, mum qualified for FNC and the home gets £800 extra for essentially the same care. That's not right.
Have you approached the home and asked if your mum could be assessed for CHC or FNC?
Also once the campaign is finalised could a mod advise if I am allowed to place a link or start a thread related to the campaign? Thought I would ask unless it's not the done thing on here?
They created this themselves because they didn't arrange the assessment, I did. If they had come to me and said your mum is no longer mobile blah blah, and we need to charge her £800 a month more, BUT we can get that £800 from the NHS then fine. However, I asked for the assessment, mum qualified for FNC and the home gets £800 extra for essentially the same care. That's not right.
Have you approached the home and asked if your mum could be assessed for CHC or FNC?
Also once the campaign is finalised could a mod advise if I am allowed to place a link or start a thread related to the campaign? Thought I would ask unless it's not the done thing on here?
@Max68 Hi , have just been awarded FNC for my mother. I find myself in the same situation where no change in nursing care before and after FNC, but no reduction in fees.
my path of complaint will be
1. Complain to the care home using their complaints procedure.
2. if no resolution after 12 weeks then refer to lgo.org.uk ( Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman)
I think this is correct but any suggestions would be great. Also not sure what questions to put to Care Home in the initial complaint email. My thoughts are 'where was the funding for nursing care taken from before FNC was awarded. etc '
my path of complaint will be
1. Complain to the care home using their complaints procedure.
2. if no resolution after 12 weeks then refer to lgo.org.uk ( Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman)
I think this is correct but any suggestions would be great. Also not sure what questions to put to Care Home in the initial complaint email. My thoughts are 'where was the funding for nursing care taken from before FNC was awarded. etc '
Hello @webiflex and welcome, this is a friendly and supportive place.
I don't know if you have taken a look at the link that was posted earlier in this thread but you might find this information below from the Local Government Ombudsman about the treatment of FNC payments interesting. Have you checked the care home contract to see whether it mentions anything about FNC payments? The LGO recommends that "care home residents should receive a clear written contract which sets out what happens to FNC payments". Have you spoken with the care home manager about the situation? If not, perhaps send an initial email first to ask about why there has been no reduction in fees, then consider submitting a formal complaint once you have received their response. That way you will be able to form a better basis for a complaint rather than asking questions as part of complaint. Hope that makes sense, but whatever you decide to do good luck, and hopefully it can be resolved without needing to go to the LGO complaints process.
https://www.lgo.org.uk/assets/attach/4260/FNC.final.pdf
I don't know if you have taken a look at the link that was posted earlier in this thread but you might find this information below from the Local Government Ombudsman about the treatment of FNC payments interesting. Have you checked the care home contract to see whether it mentions anything about FNC payments? The LGO recommends that "care home residents should receive a clear written contract which sets out what happens to FNC payments". Have you spoken with the care home manager about the situation? If not, perhaps send an initial email first to ask about why there has been no reduction in fees, then consider submitting a formal complaint once you have received their response. That way you will be able to form a better basis for a complaint rather than asking questions as part of complaint. Hope that makes sense, but whatever you decide to do good luck, and hopefully it can be resolved without needing to go to the LGO complaints process.
https://www.lgo.org.uk/assets/attach/4260/FNC.final.pdf
The care home do not like telling anyone that CHC pay for your care under the NHS continuing Healthcare which is without any cost to the resident. It happened to my husband. The issue is the care home do not want to supply my husband's medical records either so I can not establish what has gone on regarding his fee and a health care assesment
Similar threads
Recent Threads
-
-
-
-
-
-
Care needs assessment tomorrow - what do I need to prepare?
- Latest: My Mum's Daughter
-