My mum went into emergency respite care last year, the management at home knew my parents would need funding to support my mum’s care. I was told that this would not be a problem and that my dad would get back any over payments.
Fast forward nine months, home has refused to accept council offer of full funding from date mum went into care. They have been negotiation for 3 months.
Unfortunately, my dad has no more money to pay the care fees and care home threating to beginning debt recover for 2 months care fees.
Any advice as my dad is worried, he will lose his home.
The vital question here is who arranged the emergency respite?
Don’t worry, dad won’t lose his home, the care home are bullies!!
I would suggest that dad insists that everything is put in writing in future (so that he can forward it to the council). If mum (and mum alone) had under £23,000 in savings in her own name, then the council should have been paying the full cost right from the start!
I can help you sort this out, I reclaimed £8,000 from our local council, on mum’s behalf, because they didn’t follow the correct procedures!
I contacted the council as my dad was taken into hospital. Social services said that my parents had enough money to be self-financing. I arranged two weeks of emergency respite care, my dad has let that carried on until now on the highest rate.
It has taken ages to get the council to arrange financial assessments and care assessments, then when completed and council agree to pay all fees. Care home Head Office refused to accept the contracted.
In hindsight I am not sure how I could have done things differently as my dad does not like to complain and the care home were always very nice to him and my mum.
Head office on the other hand has been very threating.
The key sentence here is that you were WRONGLY told that they were “self financing”.
Make a “subject access request” to the council asking for copies of all correspondence they have on file regarding this - write it on dad’s behalf and tell dad - and the council are legally obliged to send the details within 30 days. You can do this online.
Then write to the Director of Social Services, explaining to him the situation, that officers didn’t follow the rules properly.
Ask for a letter of apology for all the distress that has been caused.
Full reimbursement of all fees, or you will have no alternative but to contact the Local Government Ombudsman as there has been maladministration.
Written agreement that they will now deal directly with the home, telling them that in future they will take over all payments.
The home is upset because when you were paying, you would have been paying their highest rate, whereas the council will have a lower “block” rate.
The Council have accepted they were wrong and have offered an apology for the distress and length of time it has taken to sort out.
The Care Home Head Office are the problem and are going all out to be nasty and threating, other than withdrawing my mum and causing distress to both my parents is there anything I can do?
I have already escalated it and asked for the complaint’s procedure without any signs of compromise.
Report them to Goverment ombudsman for social care , there’s plenty more you can do speak to citizens advice Care quality commision , silver line good advice too legel experts there you can ring them youl surprised what help you can get don’t give up fight strong and hard theyl get the message
All care homes have to be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Give them a ring and tell them what is going on, because it is completely and utterly unacceptable for residents and families to be bullied in this way.
They will deal with it diplomatically, I assure you.
I guess your dad will have to negotiate with the debt collectors, isnt there supposed to be funding for things like this. Isnt there government funding for something like this.
No, no negotiation with the debt collectors, this is up to Social Services to sort out, they have far more clout than an individual. CQC need to be involved about the bullying. Ultimately they can close the home!