Some frequently asked questions and links
We often receive questions about paying for care; it can be a confusing subject, but there is support and information available. We recommend you speak to an Independent Financial Advisor about financial questions.
If your mother has capital of over £23,250 (in England; £22,000 in Wales) she will not qualify for assistance from the Local Authority until such a time as her capital is below this amount. Any private care fees will therefore have to be met from existing capital and income. (If she has assets below £23,000, she would get increasing help on a sliding scale down to the lower limit of £14,250, where no contribution is needed.)
Most savings and assets are included in a means test, but some confusion has surrounded the subject of whether or not a person’s home is included. To help clarify the situation, a person’s home is not included in the means test if:
if a child under 16 lives in the property;
They’re in the first 12 weeks of needing permanent care;
care is being provided on a temporary basis.
your parent still resides in the home;
if a relative over 60 resides in the house;
if a disabled relative lives at the property;
The 12-week property disregard
As mentioned above, a persons’ property is excluded from the means test for the first 12 weeks following admission to a care home (once a permanent contract is established). This means that if their remaining capital falls inside the current threshold, then the local authority should assist you with the payment of your care fees.
It is worth noting that they will in most cases only pay up to their published limits, which could leave a family with what is known as a “third-party top up”, to cover any difference in actual care fees and the local authority contribution.
The money paid out by the local authority during the first 12 weeks is not normally repayable.
Deferred Payment Agreement (Government Loan Scheme)
If, after the first 12 weeks, the property has not been sold, the local authority can continue to pay towards the care fees, under the “deferred payment agreement”, but this money is repayable once the property is sold.
You can choose a care home that is more expensive than your local council usually pays for a person with your assessed needs, but you may need to find a way to pay the difference.
If the council can suggest a place that meets your needs and you still want to move into a more expensive care home then they can ask a third party (usually a relative or friend) to pay the extra. This is called a ‘top-up fee’. You are not able to pay this yourself as you have been financially assessed to pay what you can afford.
If your local council cannot suggest a place that meets your needs in your local area then they should be prepared to pay more than their usual amount.
No. Council Tax is payable on properties left unoccupied by people who have moved to receive personal care, whether in a hospital, care home or elsewhere. Generally speaking, the residents of care homes or those whose main home is a hospital do not have to pay Council Tax.
More details about these arrangements can be found in the leaflet ‘Council tax – a guide to your bill’, available from the Department for Communities (www.communities.gov.uk) and your local government website.
Possibly, as most state benefits are means-tested. Attendance Allowance is an exception; it is a non-means tested, tax-free state benefit, payable to all individuals over the age of 65 who have needed care (defined as help with essential daily tasks, such as washing and dressing) for longer than six consecutive months.
Attendance Allowance is available at two rates; a lower rate, for those who need help during the day or the night and a higher rate, for those needing care during both the day and night. The current weekly figures (2021/22) are £60 lower rate and £89.60 for the higher rate. Claim forms can be obtained from larger Post Offices, Citizens Advice Bureaux or downloaded from the website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/attendance-allowance-claim-form.
Individuals needing care under the age of 65 will still qualify for an allowance, but this is paid in the form of Disability Living Allowance.
The NHS will cover the cost of any nursing care provided by a registered nurse that a person in a nursing home is assessed as needing. This cost is a flat rate of £187.60 a week in England (for 2021/22, and is called NHS-funded nursing care (formerly known as the registered nursing care contribution).
Anyone entering a nursing home should be assessed to see if they qualify for NHS-funded nursing care. If they do, this money will be paid directly to the nursing home. The assessment is repeated annually thereafter, and it is possible that individuals will find themselves re-banded after each assessment.
Some people with ongoing health needs may be entitled to all their fees in a nursing home being paid by the Primary Care Trust (PCT). To be eligible, a continuing care health assessment is conducted by a designated nurse from the PCT and is taken to a panel for discussion on whether the individual meets certain criteria. The assessment should be conducted with the knowledge and input of the resident, next of kin and other professionals involved in the person’s care. In some circumstances, the assessment process can be fast-tracked, eg when a person is diagnosed as terminally ill with a life expectancy of one month or less.
As mentioned previously, if your mother’s capital and savings and/or income push her outside the means test thresholds, she will generally be responsible for the funding of her own care fees until such a time as her money falls below the appropriate threshold.
However, with careful planning it may be possible to structure her finances in such a way that her care fees can be paid indefinitely, without worry about the money running out. Most families wish to ensure that their relative can stay in the chosen care home for the rest of their lives as well as safeguarding as much of the existing capital as possible. Speak to an Independent Financial Advisor or consider an organisation that specialises in care fees planning, such as some from the list below. Please note that we do not endorse one particular organisation.
Talk with professionals such as your GP and social services. They may already know your family member and in any event are best placed to assess the need for residential or nursing care. They can also talk through any other options that may be available. If a care home is ultimately the way forward, they will be able to help with finding the most appropriate one. Our Home Managers and Clinical Leads are uniquely placed to discuss how the Bloomcare family can support you.
Actually there is a great variety. Homes can be run by private providers, local authorities or voluntary organisations. Daily help with personal care, such as washing and dressing, is available in a residential home, where medication, for example, will be given by a registered person not a qualified nurse. A nursing home will, as the title suggests, provide tailored nursing care for each resident paying the nursing fee. All our homes are registered residential and nursing homes, residential residents receive the daily support of our health care assistants supervised by the qualified nurse on duty. If nursing care were to be needed in the future we can give reassurance a move to another home would not be necessary There are also homes offering extra care and support such as those focused entirely on residents who live with dementia.
If the person you have been caring for is unable to leave their bed, or has a condition or illness that requires regular medical attention, a nursing home is likely to be the most appropriate kind of care setting. Under their regulatory responsibilities, care homes must explain very clearly the level of care they are able to provide. They are only allowed to accept residents who they can safely look after. If you are looking for nursing as opposed to residential care you need to be satisfied that your chosen home has qualified nursing staff on duty 24/7 and has dedicated resources for residents such as hoists and specialist beds.
There are a number of factors involved in deciding who should pay for care. Nursing care residents can be assessed for and granted NHS-funded care. Even if the person you are caring for is not eligible for financial help with care home fees, it is generally still worth involving social services. Their assessment and the information they provide are likely to be very helpful in making decisions about care. Be aware that different care homes will charge different fees and if the level set by the one you choose is above what the state will cover then the balance will have to be found elsewhere. If you are funding part or all of the care home costs, then it is important to be sure the resident can afford the fees. The best advice is to talk with social services and/or the prospective home about the funding options.
Ideally, yes. Location is of course very important depending on your individual circumstances and needs. As your GP and social services will have extensive community care links they should have a good insight into the variety of providers in the local area. If you, other members of the family and friends consider location to be a pivotal issue, make that clear at the outset.
You can speak with the care sector regulator, the Care Quality Commission, which maintain lists of care homes and publishes independent reviews online. Age UK also has a useful website. For specific questions relating to someone who is living with dementia, try the Alzheimer’s Society. Another source is simply word of mouth. The personal recommendations of people you know and trust are likely to lead you to a good home too.
You will want to be reassured that your chosen home is focused on the individual needs of residents, including dignity and privacy, and organised in such a way that it can achieve a high standard of care. Ask about the team members involved in care. Seek a meeting with the home manager and ask how long team members have worked at the home, what training they have had, and whether you can speak with the families and friends of other residents to gauge their opinions on how well the home delivers.
Yes of course.Check if there are any rules on visiting times or if you would be free to pop in anytime, this will give you an indication of how welcoming the home is to friends and relatives. Ask about the practical involvement family and friends can have in the home. Are they actively encouraged to get involved in decisions and what does the home say about communicating with staff? Ask the manager to talk through the activities programme at the home and the extent to which residents are enabled to stay in contact with the local community.
Yes. A good home should be very happy to talk through everything from how it caters for personal dietary needs right through to respecting residents’ religious beliefs and practices.
Power of Attorney is designed to ensure that someone you trust can step in and make decisions when you are no longer able to. While a person retains mental capacity, it can be a prudent move to appoint an attorney rather than wait until it is too late. If all this is sorted out in advance, it can relieve much stress further down the line.
During your visit and conversations with the home ask for details, if you are comparing several homes you want to be clear what the charges are for each one, ask to see the contract which details the terms and conditions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – if the answers are not clear, raise the matter again before making any final decisions.
