We are trying to get my Dad into a local nursing home, however the only option that Social services will fund is and has been requiring improvements and inadequate for over a year. It has a shocking report and following a visit there I was really uncomfortable with it.
I have refused this home which I feel justified in doing.
However.
The other option is a home that cost £900 per week, Social service refuse to cover the extra cost meaning we have to cover the £120.00 per week top up which we can’t afford.
Do I have the right to refuse a care home that requires improvement and insist apron a “good” home?
The other homes in the area are all in excess of £1100 per week, so £900 per week does seem good value in comparison.
Hi Hugs.
A link supplied to you in your previous thread :
Paying for permanent residential care | Paying for a care home | Age UK
( Everything you need to know about care home financing. )
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If the cheapest available in the area costs £900, then that is the amount the council must pay. It’s unlawful to set a ceiling that is lower than the lowest place available. It’s also unlawful to ask the client to top up the amount. Relatives should not be asked to top up either.
BB’s reply … your previous thread again.
I trust you have now sought assistance from AGE UK … and not that social worker ?
CHC / NHS Continuing Healthcare … now considered ?
If so , an answer which you are now exploring further ?
Yes I have read the threads and done my “homework” as you pointed out I needed to do.
Thank you.
I really don’t have the energy to fight CHC at the moment, or read any more so please forgive me for asking another question. I feel like I’m being told off!
I need to get my Dad cared for properly which us why I’m asking the questions?
The links explain how the funding works, I get that, dad should be fully funded. However SS have said they will only fund up to £780. Per week, the cost of the home they will provide, which is unacceptable.
My question if any one can help is.
Can I refuse a requires improvement home and ask for SS to pay for a good one?
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Can I refuse a requires improvement home and ask for SS to pay for a good one?
I recommend bouncing that question off AGE UK … they are the experts in this field … we , on the forum , are not.
They will spell out the options available without prejudice ( Unlike a social worker in the employ of a LA. )
CHC / NHS Continuing Healthcare … I’ll leave that with you.
You will be aware of the advantages … and the nursing needs of your father.
Under that scheme , no more monetary worries … it’s FREE at the point of delivery … if your future application on behalf of your father is successful.
If the first care home you looked at had an official (CQC) rating of “Inadequate” and is now in special measures, then I believe that they are unable to take in any new residents until they have been inspected again six months after the date of the “Inadequate” inspection and improved sufficiently to be moved out of special measures.
This is the situation with my mother’s care home, so I have done a lot of research into the subject!
This may give you some further “clout” with your LA.
There has to be a SUITABLE home place available at the price the LA are willing to pay.
In my area, the limit is usually under £600, but when mum was ready for discharge, the only place available was nearer £800. The LA had to pay that figure.
They did try to pull a fast one, not paying the home the full amount and then sending mum the bill for the excess. I had to go to Winchester to meet a bitch of a woman who thought she could bully me. She knew nothing about me, and soon found that she had to eat humble pie and refund me £8,000.
Please remember that we are all former or current carers here, who can only speak of our own experiences or refer you to relevant documents.
If dad is fully funded by the LA, without money of his own, all you can do is keep refusing the placement.
It is likely that dad could be entitled to Legal Aid. Google “legal aid solicitor” plus the name of your town. If eligible, the solicitor could take over the case and fight the battle, much better than doing it on your own.
Top up fees ?
Let’s bury this once and for all.
A LEGAL OPINION …
Probate Solicitors | Shropshire | McKenzie Law
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Care Funding and Third Party Top Up Fees – Should You Pay One ?
A snippet :
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It can be a real ordeal to try and navigate our complicated health and social care system and we can help if you think you are paying, or are being asked to pay an unlawful third party top up fee.
We know that top-up fees cause difficulties for many families. These third party top up fees arise when a relative or friend is asked to voluntarily top up the Local Authority contribution to someone’s care, so that they can stay in a more expensive care home, or stay in a larger or single occupancy room at a care home, or to enjoy benefits like an en-suite bathroom, or to generally make their care experience better.
If paying a top up fee is presented to you as something which is mandatory rather than optional this is wrong. The responsibility to pay top up fees must be clearly explained to families otherwise the fees can be legally challenged.
Families can find that they are wrongly charged substantial top up fees for long periods of time.
Have you looked at the CQC report for that nursing home? If it has been rated as overall inadequate (ie. in special measures), then scroll down the report to near the end where you should find a section headed “Enforcement Actions”. This will list the enforcements that have been applied and may include restrictions on admissions to the home (as in my mother’s case).