Hi I’m in a dilemma what to do for the best for mum, she’s 90 bedbound and we having self funded carers for over a year now, IV now got her some benefits as her savings have all gone but it’s doesn’t cover her care costs so around £2,000 short each month . I need to apply for social carers for her now but reluctantly putting it off as mum’s likes her ladies and i feel like the bad guy.
Anyone else in this situation or had to do this .thanks
Hi Lynne,
welcome to the forum.
Are the current paid carers from an agency?
If so, does the agency take social care funded clients? Then that’s not a problem.
If they are either not from an agency or the agency only take on self funding clients, you could request direct payments instead.
There is info here: https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/direct-payments
Melly1
Hello Lynne
Get the social services in for a care needs assessment.
Your mum needs the care and the money has gone, so it is their turn to provide.
It’s great that your mum has a rapport with the ladies, however, it can be a revolving door of carers leaving, she’s lucky to have these ladies long term.
I am sure that whoever will be providing her future care she will have a rapport with them when they get to know each other. That’s what happened with your current care company and it will happen again with the next one.
If they say your mother qualifies for a home, if your mother wants that, then let her, no matter how hard for you, because it’s her wish and because she is in an ageing process with increasing needs. That said, the big push is for care at home to ease the demand on limited home spaces and the cost of them.
if Mum has a Needs Assessment and needs care, she should have a choice. Either carers arranged by Social Services OR Direct Payments, money paid to her so she can keep her existing carers.
Is mum getting Attendance Allowance at the highest rate?
She would have been entitled to help for a long time, once her capital went below either £16,000 or £23,000, I can’t remember which.
Thank you all, mum gets attendance allowance and housing benefit , she also gets direct payment that we use to pay her carers with but it doesn’t cover it so short by around 2.000 a month .we were offered social carers when mum was assessed in January but she wanted to keep her ladies, carnt do that anymore and I’m more sad about changing them than mum is 
Welcome.
To put it bluntly.
When push comes to shove you have to be pragmatic about it.
You can’t be £2k in debt every month out of sentimental reasons.
If the present company were failing your mum by not doing a good job you wouldn’t think twice about changing them.
If those ladies had the offer of better pay and conditions with another company or won the lottery they wouldn’t stay just because of your mum.
With the cost of living crisis things will cost more and the care fees will rise.
Be pragmatic.
Future proof by getting the social care.
We had a care company with fabulous ladies and a great rapport with them, but there was a change of manager and a few of them left, some were promoted and then a temporary manager and our regular ladies were gone. Nobody is set in stone.
Get the social care sorted.
Thank you breezy , yes blunt but what I needed ,just contacted social to set up social carers and told mum’s paid carers we are having to cancel there services, given a date to end one and start up another.
It makes complete sense and it was just me being a bit soft as don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings !
Mum doesn’t seen to care who goes ,grumbles about everyone and everything.
Present carers said if it doesn’t work out with social care , as they are not considered very good, I can ring her anytime.
Thanks again for the good advice .L
Hello Lynn
That is good news.
Sometimes you just need to break it down in the facts and be pragmatic.
I hope it all works out with the other carers.
It’s a two-way street, if you were defaulting on your payments to your original providers they would stop their services and they will have had plenty contracts ended for those in the same position as you or going into a home or worse. This is provision of a service, a contractual business arrangement and business doesn’t operation on sentimentality, the bottom line on the spreadsheet is cold hard cash.
Good luck and make notes.