Hi everyone, I could do with a bit of advice. Mum has been in hospital, she now has advanced dementia and parkinsons. She is coming up to being discharged and needs a nursing home. She was at home before going into hospital but has deteriorated. The hospital have said that the nursing assessment for full continuing healthcare will be done when she has been at the nursing home for two weeks. Hence we are in the situation that if we cannot afford it then we will have to move her. It seems very iffy to me and although the social worker said they had been doing it for a year I am wondering if it is an emergency measure to free up a bed during the coronavirus problem. They have said that we will not be charged for the two weeks. Any thoughts anyone? Cannot easily talk to a solicitor at the moment
It is MUM’s assets they consider, nothing to do with yours whatsoever.
Does mum have over £23,000 in savings?
Does mum own her house?
Upto 6 weeks FREE reenablement care ?
Care after illness or hospital discharge (reablement) - NHS
Fast track NHS Continuing healthcare has been known to be completed inside 3 days :
If I remember rightly, the first TWELVE weeks in residential care assess only income, not total assets, and there should be no charges whatsoever until the CHC assessment has been done. I
once claimed back £8,000 from Hampshire CC as they didn’t apply the rules correctly, no one had signed agreement to pay anything.
BOWLINGBUN’S GOLDEN RULE
NEVER SIGN ANYTHING RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL CARE CHARGES!!!
Thanks very much, I think that it may be because of the situation at the moment. I have asked her to put it in an email so I have a written copy
Share it with us before you do much else.
Getting everything in writing is absolutely the right thing to do. Say it’s so you can show mum, explain to your fictitious brother or anything else, but get it in writing.
One of my other Golden Rule is NEVER believe anything a social worker tells you until you are sure it’s true.
All the rules about residential care and charging are laid down in the 2014 Care Act Statutory Guidance. In the end I printed off the entire thing, many pages. Fortunately I have a laser printer so not too expensive to print for me. At least print off the most relevant pages, put them in a ring binder then go through it all with a highlighter pen.
That pen may save you thousands of pounds. Is mum already receiving DLA/AA?
Have you told DWP she has been in hospital?
You now have a very difficult decision to make, as dementia is progressive.
Is it better for mum to move temporarily into a home the council or hospital has chosen, then go home, only for her to go round the circle another time when she fails again, goes into hospital again, or is it now time to choose a “forever home” for mum, so she never ever has to go anywhere else again?
If you think it’s time for a forever home, you need to act fast, and find a home as near you as possible that you like and think mum would be happy in. It has to be an EMI home, Elderly Mentally Infirm home, and there are too many of those in most areas. If this is what you want to happen, then talk to the Ward Sister asap.
My own mum went in and out of hospital so many times that in the end we had to accept that residential care was the only option left. Not what we wanted, but what she needed, someone on call to help her 24/7.
Hello Let it go2
As well as the helpful suggestions from other members, you might also find it useful to read Carers UK’s ‘Coming out of hospital’ factsheet.
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/coming-out-of-hospital
If you’d like further advice before making your decision on the future care of your mum, you could also contact our Helpline at advice@carersuk.org
Wishing you well with your caring situation
Michael
Hi
Just to flag that the new emergency Coronavirus Bill that is to be introduced in Parliament on Monday says that the CCG no longer has to comply with the duty to assess for eligibility for NHS CHC nor to have regard to the National Framework:
Personally I’m not very clear what this will mean in practice but if your Mum hasn’t already been assessed for CHC I would ask for clarification as to the potential implications for you before agreeing to anything. It also worth noting that the Bill reduces the duties of local authorities in England and Wales in relation to the provision of care and support.
The Government are proposing that this legislation if passed should last for two years. Hopefully the Opposition can agree that it is reviewed regularly - otherwise there is a risk that vulnerable people (especially the elderly) won’t get the help and support they need putting further pressure on carers.
I’m not sure if Carers Uk have passed any comment/ provided advice on the proposals but it would be helpful to be assured that they are looking at it and making representations on our behalf.
If this goes ahead, effectively scrapping CHC the financial implications are enormous!
MICHAEL please can you comment asap!
It is my understanding although CHC assessments would not take place, people would receive NHS funded care until an assessment and decision could take place (ie after the crisis)
NHS Continuing Healthcare duties – England only
Clause 13 of the Bill [page 7] is explained by paras 172 – 173 of the Explanatory Notes: namely that it applies to ‘the procedure for discharge from an acute hospital setting for those with a social care need’ and that it allows NHS providers to delay undertaking the NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments – and that ‘pending that assessment, the patient will continue to receive NHS care’.
http://www.lukeclements.co.uk/category/whats-new/
Melly1
The professor’s gut reaction ( Link in last post … thanks Melly , explains a lot in plain English ) ;
These changes to the Care Act 2014 would only be triggered if the spread of coronavirus was such that the Secretary of State considered LAs to be at imminent risk of failing to fulfil their duties under the Care Act 2014 and would be deactivated at the conclusion of the emergency period. Even during the operation of these changes, LAs would still be expected to continue meeting all of their duties under the Act if they are able to do so.
However, during the peak, adult social care services will face surging demand and reduced capacity arising from higher rates of staff absence. This may make it impossible for LAs to continue to deliver at current service levels, or undertake the detailed assessments they would usually provide.
In such circumstances it is crucial that LAs should be able to prioritise care in order to protect life and reach rapid decisions over the provision of care without undertaking full Care Act compliant assessments.
These provisions, which would only be brought into operation for the shortest possible time at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. Without these provisions, LAs would be constrained by existing assessments, which could result in them maintaining these at the expense of new, more urgent needs, or prevent them from allocating scarce support purely on the basis of severity of need. Such decisions could be inhibited by the fear of legal challenge under the Care Act.
These provisions would also provide Secretary of State with a power to direct LAs to comply with Government guidance regarding the principles they should follow when prioritising care.
Carers UK’s response the Emergency Coronavirus Bill can be found through the link below. This web page will be updated with our response to the range of carer releated issues addressed by this bill.
https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/coronavirus-bill-emergency-measures
In working behind the scenes we are also doing all that we can to represent the rights of carers in relation to this bill. The range of issues being highlighted on the Forum is really helpful in enabling us to build a picture of how the coronavirus is affecting carers across the UK.
We’ll keep you updated with further developments as they happen
Michael
Bill, an LA that can make “rapid decisions”?? Not in the case of Hampshire.
Michael, I couldn’t get the link to work.
BB try this one
https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/coronavirus-bill-emergency-measures
(I’ve updated Michael’s post)
Oh god, so sorry for you and your mom. It’s so sad when your mother has dementia and can’t recognize you. It’s heartbreaking. The situation you described is awful, I can’t imagine how that could happen.
Old thread, locked.