I am having such trouble finding a care home for my mother. We are on the deferred system and then when I sell her property self financing but the money will not last long with the fees being as they are. We are going through the brokerage system with help from a social worker. To date we have been offered a place, led to believe that it was ok and then told they could not meet her needs even though this topic was discussed at length. Then we were offered another place then told they could not meet her needs due to stairs and the final straw today told an assessment was taking place from a care home only to be told it wasn’t, there was no place and no assessment. In the beginning, new to this I visited care homes only to be told there was no point until a financial assessment and medical assessment had taken place. Now I have the brokerage service from the local council, who give you misleading information, send you on wild goose chases and don’t answer your emails. I have recently had a heart attack and can not cope with all this even though I have a wonderfully supportive husband. I would welcome news of experiences from others and advice on how to cope.
Hi Helen.
As an aid . I would recommend some of the best guides out there on care homes … AGE UK :
Help with finding a Care Home | Age UK
How to choose the right care home | Age UK
Paying for permanent residential care | Paying for a care home | Age UK
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/information-guides/ageukil5_care_home_checklist_inf.pdf
Plenty more over there on more specialised areas.
CHC / NHS Continuing Healthcare / NHS Nursing Funded Care … all red herrings in this instance ???
The first two are free but … one huge minefield to cross … without a map … when first applying.
I hope the above helps you move forward with your endeavours ?
Hi Helen,
From what I can gather from our social worker, brokers just send out an email to all the agencies/ care homes that they commission care from and await replies. As soon as an agency/ care home responds they leave it to the family/ social worker to check the clients needs can be met.
We have been at the mercy of this “service” the last few months and so far the broker has found a whole series of agencies, who CANT meet S’s needs.
I suggest you do your own research, instead. Use the advice links from Chris as a guide for what to look for.
Melly1
That’s interesting Melly … a broker for care homes … until now , I didn’t know they existed … on reflection , logical for
this sector … a centralised source … of sorts ?
Would he / she still offer a care home where no introductory commission is paid ?
( Similar to some of the famous Internet brokers out there … excluding some products from price comparison guides
purely as there is no commission in it for them … fairly recents articles on this aspect. )
If so … said broker … working for whose interest , exactly ?
An internet search … NORMAL … then MAPS … CARE HOMES IN ( INSERT AREA ) … would produce the same … only with
all care homes … possible to narrow the field down by using price … NOT MORE THAN XXX per week … not always
accurate but not bad from one’s Internet device ?
In addition , possible to add … ( CONDITION ) … to a search to narrow down the specialist homes out there.
Another one out there is a fairly new price guide online calculator … mentioned before with mixed opinions :
Financing Later Life Care - Which?
( Fairly spot on here in Worksop but … the jury is out in more properous areas. )
Why not take it for a test drive … it’s free to use.
( If any reader needs help with Internet searches , just pm me !!! As for " Maps " , difficult to copy across to the forum.
Often the case of having to know most of the answer in order to ask the right question … as with a barrister ? )
Be a little ironic if Helen finally tracks down what she needs … only for the forthcoming Green Paper to change the whole game plan ???