Hi everyone,
I reread the AA form and it didn’t seem quite so bad the second time around. I asked the administrator on the ward for relevant info and she was very helpful. Can’t find the details about the last time he was in hospital (just beore the present adnission) at all although I have searched high and low. so will have to find out about that somehow.
Got a TALK with the consultant today and things aren’t looking good - hope I’m wrong but lots of problems.
Hi Monica. It might be an idea to request your husband’s hospital records for the times he’s been in hospital before and during his present admission.
I requested my mother’s hospital records for when she had been a patient during last December/prior to bring admitted to a nursing home on discharge…
It made interesting reading! My mum had a Continuing Health Care checklist done prior to discharge and it was only when I saw her hospital records that I realised that the assessor who carried out the checklist had missed the fact that my mother had THREE “altered states of consciousness” whilst in hospital but the assessor recorded she had none!!!
This error (along with another discrepancy ) meant that my mother wasn’t put forward for the second meeting 're full Continuing Health Care funding.
I obviously appealed the decision and now mum has been finally awarded CHC.
THE MORAL IS…NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING/DO YOUR RESEARCH AND TRY TO BE “ONE STEP AHEAD”.
My thoughts are with you Monica and I do hope your husband’s health begins to improve.
Kind regards.
Joan
After many weeks of very little information and an insulting discussion with an arrogant doctor I asked the ward sister to tell me what was happening.They really had kept me out of the loop.
Well things are starting to happen now and my goodness I really need help. I think Carers Leeds are brilliant and Thank You everyone for pointing me in the right direction.
Firstly, and what feels like the most important thing at the moment is I will make sure there is a care plan in place before he is discharged. Considering my husband’s failing health over the last years I am amazed that he hasn’t had one before that I’ve been aware of anyway. It has just felt as if once out of hospital we have been left to our own devices until the next crisis developed.
Lots to take in and seemingly impossible to sort through!!! 
Sorry to interrupt this thread (maybe MODS will create me a new one?) but where does the cap of £453 a week come from? I’ve searched high and low and can’t find reference to it anywhere else, even Age UK. Is this something particular to Leeds City Council? Does it apply to self funders as well as funded?
£ 453 per week ( £ 451.92 to be accurate ) … £ 23,250 per annum.
A figure often quoted in similar threads ?
Paying for permanent residential care | Paying for a care home | Age UK
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How could my finances and property affect my fees ?
If your local council carries out a care needs assessment and finds you need a care home place, they will do a means test. This may take into account the value of your property, if you own one, as well as your income and savings.
Here’s how the means test for social care will look at your capital (your savings and property) and how this will affect your care home fees.
Your capital What you will have to pay
Over £23,250 > You must pay full fees (known as being self-funding).
Between £14,250 and £23,250 The local council will fund some of your care and you’ll contribute to the rest.
Less than £14,250 This will be ignored and won’t be included in the means test – the local council will pay for your care. However, they will still take your eligible income into account.
That’s the context … when assessing care home fees.
Hi Mrs A and Monica
When my mum moved from Pembrokeshire, after my dad’s death, to a bungalow near to my house in 2007 she already had higher rate AA and a Blue Badge. These had been sorted for her by Age UK back home. She had been using her AA (and my dad’s) to pay for a cleaner, gardener and some help from the local Nursing Home who sent a carer to look after my Dad’s twice weekly all over wash down. We also had Enduring POA in place. (Now changed to LPOA)
I was working at the time so set about seeing what help and company I could find for her in her new home in Leeds. I was a complete novice when it came to finding Care so went looking at my LA website to see what they could offer or recommend. I seem to remember acquiring a booklet too. While doing my research I noticed that Leeds Council stated that no-one who needed care should pay over £260.00 (or thereabouts, I forget the exact amount) per week. I also learned of the amount of savings etc that meant mum was self funding.
I found a cleaner for her and various other things like a free library service lady who brought her talking books once a fortnight, a church group who came to give her communion and a local ‘Friends’ group who had a volunteer sitting service once a fortnight. As time went on I found a Care Company too who started to come in once a day to help her get showered.
Time passed, mum’s needs increased, I retired and was spending more and more time with her and she was employing more carers from that company. I decided it was a good idea to get her on SS radar. Needs assessment took place which led to the OT coming and providing free equipment ‘on loan’, we got the continence nurse involved and the GPs would make house calls if needed.
When mum’s care needs costs reached that ‘cap’, and I can’t remember whether that was before or after me first contacting SS, we arranged for her to have direct payments of the difference. Won’t go into the logistics of that, but it worked. Mum refused to have a financial assessment. ‘None of their business’, she said, but I knew she was over the savings limit still. They just accepted her refusal.
I checked the website in order to respond to the post and the limit has gone up in the last 10 years but it is still there it seems. Whether other LAs have a similar policy I don’t know. It’s always worth checking? Leeds might be unique in that but all should have things in place and on offer to help their elderly citizens advertised on their site. I did contact Leeds Care too but for some reason I cannot remember, nothing came of that.
I’ve waffled on a bit but hope that helps?
KR
Elaine
Interesting post , Elaine.
Leeds … a very unique LA if the rest of the country is anything to go by ?
I have been assessed as having eligible needs, how much will I need to contribute ?
Our financial team will look at how much your identified needs cost to provide, and evaluate your finances in more detail to work out your contribution.
Depending on the amount of income, savings or assets you have, you may have to contribute towards some or all of your social care and support.
You will be assessed as needing either non-residential or residential care. Both types of support will require a contribution based on how much you are financially assessed as being able to pay.
At face value , no different to any other LA ?
Do I have to give my financial
details?
You don’t have to provide any
details of your income or savings
but if you don’t provide all the
information required, you will not
qualify for any financial assistance
and you will have to pay the full
cost of your care up to a maximum
weekly limit of £453.00
Page 13 of the pdf on the link I posted .
Maybe Leeds is unique Chris. Glad I live here if so. By the time Mum went into the Home, initially for respite but elected to remain, she was having double carers 4 times a day for hoisting etc, plus a two hour single carer for my weekly ‘respite time’, granted on my carer’s assessment. Loads of equipment like the ceiling hoists, special slings, and the hospital type bed. (All returned). The financial support didn’t apply to any extra care booked above that recommended by needs assessments of course. I can’t remember now whether the fact that we chose our Care Company meant that any difference between the charge they made for the recommended hours and the charge a Care Company chosen by SS would have made meant mum had to find the extra but I suspect it did. It’s been three years and there’s a lot I’ve done my best to forget!
KR
Yep … that page 4 makes VERY interesting reading.
Only readers buying in support services in 2019 can judge the limit of £ 453 per week … perhaps a few would comment ?
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From April 2019, no one has to pay more than £453.00 per week no matter how many services they receive, regardless of their financial circumstances.
( Tried 4 other LAs at random … no mention of a cap on their social care charges. )
Really interesting posts - but I’m not quite there yet so will have to study all the info. a bit later.
The OT from the hospital is coming tomorrow to measure up for a second bannister up the stairs and measure the furniture - (not quite sure why). Then Carers Leeds are coming round to help me fill in the AA form which arrived today - only phoned up about it on Monday so am fairly amazed it came so quickly.
Once they are out of the way I’ll start thinking about what I need to do next. Hopefully Carers Leeds might offer to help me prioritise as it just seems a mountainous task.
Spent several hours yesterday filling in the AA form - Clare from Carers leeds said that she had never seen such a long list of medication so it all proved to be very time consuming. She suggested I wait until we have the discharge info before sending it off
My husband’s discharge does seem to be imminent as I have had numerous discussions/telephone calls/visits with OT’s and a work person is here at the moment fitting a bannister and other aids. Perch stool and commode are coming tomorrow apparently.
We are still waiting for a dialysis slot so no date as yet.
Not sure if I’ll take advantage of the offer of a Re-ablement team - my husband isn’t keen.
Apparently he has to be careful what he eats and drinks from now on and pesumably hospital transport to and from hospital will have to be arranged. A lot of info to take in, in a short time.
Whether your husband is KEEN or not, YOU need support from the Reablement Team. They are the experts, you can ask “How do I…” and get immediate help. It’s your decision really. If he wants you to care for him, then you should call the shots!
I know what you mean but my husband’s confidence and self worth have been really undermined by this latest series of illnesses and I wouldn’t do anything to make things worse.
I probably will ask the re-ablement team for help at first. Apparently I have to ask as they cost money so aren’t offered freely!
Still no word of a dialysis slot though.
I cannot or wouldn’t want to leave him for any length of time at the moment but have an hospital apointment coming up as I’ve got glaucoma and need treatment. Is there help available?
Hello Monica
These two things I do have some experience of.
My late husband had care from the reablement team. The benefit was that they did encourage him to do as much for himself as possible; in other words they lived up to their name. In fact, when they stopped we went on to have paid carers to get him washed and dressed and ready for bed. That allowed me to be more of a wife and less of a carer. It was also my chance to get myself washed and dressed in the morning and to start cooking the evening meal. If you don’t ask now, you’ll maybe not be able to get them later if you need them, whereas you can always cancel anything you turn out not to need (in our case, a tea time call).
Of course you must find a way to keep your own hospital appointments but that can be a tricky one. Start asking now! Round here there was a local respite care/sitting service. It was funded with Council money, I think (the local Carers group told me about it) but I never managed to get anyone at the time I needed them, which is why you need to investigate before your husband gets home. You might need a carer’s assessment to access it - if you do, you are entitled to an assessment regardless of whether your husband has a needs assessment.
Best wishes for all this preparation.
Reablement should be offered, you should not have to ask at all.
It’s usually only available for the first six weeks only, that free six weeks won’t be available later!
It does seem like a good idea to use the help of the reablement team and I will ask fot them when we get the discharge date.
I will phone carers Leeds next week to ask for advice about my hospital appointment as they seem to know what is available, if anything.
Again, thanks for the advice.