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Care & carers

£600k for 10 years - is that reasonable planning for a home?

(118 Posts)
Oopsadaisy1 Wed 31-Jan-24 15:09:05

When MiL went into a home just before Covid it was £1495 per week, we were told that if the money ran out she would have to be found a place in a Local Authority home, we put her house on the market but she died before it sold.
I assume that you have to start looking a couple of months before the money runs out and hope that a decent home can be found.

welbeck Wed 31-Jan-24 15:02:17

those in the know, ie HCPs are far more likely to succeed i n applying for CHC, where it is relevant i mean.
i think it is worth considering paying an independent expert, speciality nurse to fill the forms.
some solicitors might do this also.

Casdon Wed 31-Jan-24 14:54:19

Callistemon21

^MissAdventure is right. If you have significant ongoing nursing care needs which meet the Continuing Healthcare criteria, the NHS would fully fund your care^

Meeting those criteria is nigh on impossible.
A family member with dementia, incontinent and unable to move or do anything on their own did not meet the criteria. The cost for a nursing home was £1,600 per week and the family was told that as a higher level of care was needed imminently, the person would need 24 hour care and the cost per week would double.
Another person we know who has reached that stage is being cared for at home but trying to get much help is proving very difficult indeed.

Of course, not everyone will need residential nursing or care.

The bar is certainly set very high, I looked it up, and 104,000 people in England were granted CHC funding in a year. It covers complex nursing care at home as well as people in care homes.
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06128/#:~:text=In%202021%2F22%2C%20104%2C400%20people,whose%20situation%20is%20deteriorating%20quickly.

Callistemon21 Wed 31-Jan-24 14:44:49

I would make arrangements to go to Switzerland rather than fund the lifestyle of hedge fund managers and billionaires who pay their care home staff the lowest wages they can get away with.

Norah Wed 31-Jan-24 14:37:11

Birthto110 I suppose your numbers are as good as any others.

We are hoping to pay for in-home help, until we may need more skilled care, then residential care home which we've saved for.

Callistemon21 Wed 31-Jan-24 14:14:09

Birthto110

Crazy money - it's important that staff are paid well but they are not that's the thing. My own mother was a care worker in a residential home as was my mother in law.

The carers are not paid enough.
However, some owners have become rather wealthy and many care/nursing homes are owned by global investment firms.
That includes children's care homes.

www.carehomeprofessional.com/barchester-healthcare-profits-rise/#:~:text=Barchester%20Healthcare%2C%20co%2Downed%20by,increase%20in%20pre%2Dtax%20profits.
www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/23/england-childrens-care-homes-backed-by-private-equity-firms-double-over-five-years

Freya5 Wed 31-Jan-24 14:11:33

Crocus5

Sorry to hear that Imarocker.What will happen after 4 years?

The state then take over the bill, is what I understand from my friend, who's mum was in a dual care home.

Callistemon21 Wed 31-Jan-24 14:07:26

MissAdventure is right. If you have significant ongoing nursing care needs which meet the Continuing Healthcare criteria, the NHS would fully fund your care

Meeting those criteria is nigh on impossible.
A family member with dementia, incontinent and unable to move or do anything on their own did not meet the criteria. The cost for a nursing home was £1,600 per week and the family was told that as a higher level of care was needed imminently, the person would need 24 hour care and the cost per week would double.
Another person we know who has reached that stage is being cared for at home but trying to get much help is proving very difficult indeed.

Of course, not everyone will need residential nursing or care.

M0nica Wed 31-Jan-24 14:06:54

Do not forget that some of the care costs can be met from the person in care's income, plus Attendance Allowance.

Casdon Wed 31-Jan-24 13:53:09

MissAdventure is right. If you have significant ongoing nursing care needs which meet the Continuing Healthcare criteria, the NHS would fully fund your care. Assuming you don’t meet those criteria you are expecting to fund yourself until you have assets totalling no more than £23,000.

Bear in mind that it’s unlikely that you will need 10 years residential or nursing home care though, the preferred model is to be supported at home for as long as possible. According to the ONS:
‘The proportion of the usual resident population aged 65 years and over living in a care home decreased from 3.2% in 2011 to 2.5% in 2021. Within the 65 years and over care home population, 56.4% of residents were aged 85 years and over; this is a decrease from 2011, where 59.2% of residents were aged 85 years and over.9 Oct 2023’

MissAdventure Wed 31-Jan-24 13:43:18

I'm sure it depends on the kind of care a person needs.
Some is completely funded, whilst other situations mean that people need to self fund.

It's very complicated.

Birthto110 Wed 31-Jan-24 13:41:53

Crazy money - it's important that staff are paid well but they are not that's the thing. My own mother was a care worker in a residential home as was my mother in law.

Birthto110 Wed 31-Jan-24 13:40:53

So I wonder if there are figures available from the care sector about average monies paid by the average care home resident if self funding? Does anyone know?

Crocus5 Wed 31-Jan-24 10:26:25

Sorry to hear that Imarocker.What will happen after 4 years?

Imarocker Wed 31-Jan-24 01:44:37

A friend is in a care home - not nursing - and it costs £100k a year. She will be out of money in 4 years.

Zuzu Wed 31-Jan-24 00:05:50

My DH has had 2 back surgeries, followed by 2 strokes. I'm in very good health. Over the past 5 years, after his business partner embezzled from their company, he'd transferred everything into my name. I'm currently putting all of my assets, including a small inheritance from my mom, into an Asset Protection Trust. Should he need to be in a home in the future, my assets are secure for myself and later my children, should I also need a home. We're in the US, on Medicare. Medicaid is health care for the indigent. We've both had family in nursing homes, his grandmother on Medicaid and my mother on private pay--both were taken care of equally. In speaking with the nursing home staff, they are prohibited from knowing or treating those on Medicaid differently than those on private pay.

Jane43 Tue 30-Jan-24 23:45:23

My friend’s husband who died just before Christmas was in a care home after having a stroke. It cost £7000 a month and wiped out most of their savings.

Birthto110 Tue 30-Jan-24 23:40:00

£600k for 10 years - is that reasonable planning for a residential care home? Anticipating one of us in the family might need a care home from 85 to 95 years old...at around £60k a year? Has anyone's family member paid that type of money? Thank you. So hard to plan when you don't know how much care you (or your LOs) might need.