Direct Payments for Care - Anyone had these?

DS has PIP and had thought that the way they helped him with his PA's PAYE was really good until they told him he had under paid her tax by quite a large amount!

Sorry, he had not deducted the correct amount of tax by quite a large amount! I knew what I meant!

I feel concerned that we would be taking on the role of employer. I think the problem is that this may be the only way of us finding a solution. I looks to me as if the various care companies just cannot afford to work directly for the LA. I can't keep going backwards and forwards as I am at the moment so we need to find a solution somehow.

I don't want mum to go into a home and will somehow keep her in her own home as long as I can but I am begging to wonder if it is possible for community care to actually work.

Sorry Kitty - I thought I had said thank you at the beginning of the post. Definitely getting too tired but a bit thank you - the experience of others really helps with there things.

I suggest you check what the Direct Payment option are in your area, usually you can still use an agency so you are not the employer. If you want to use someone on an individual basis then there are usually options for a third party to undertake the employer HR role doing tax and pay. If you use this option you should get the cost of such a service added to your care allocation. I do know friends who feel Direct Payments work well for them, give them a choice and control of the situation, not possible with other ways of receiving help.

Of course, the advantage of direct payments is that you can dictate when a carer comes and what you expect them to do. Round here, there are some really good carer agencies who guarantee that they always send the same carers.

There is also a meals on wheels company that will deliver a meal and sit and chat with the person to ensure they at least start their meal.

Our local Alzheimer's Society has a list of different agencies.

Sorry, I know it's not what you asked but might help you decide.

We applied for direct payments for my MiL. This was after we heard what the pathetic so called 'free personal care' offered up here actually consisted of. However, processing the application and general administration issues meant such massively long delays that poor MiL had to be admitted to hospital from which she never returned. Meanwhile my 'carers assessment' led to me being offered nothing but the phone number of a 'support group'!

Yes Grace I had direct payments when my dad was alive some years ago now, they worked well, I was given a set number of hours each week, it helped to pay for private night care when my mum was taken into hospital and dad couldn't be left on his own.

Kitty, it may not be what I asked but it is what I need to know, thank you. The trouble is that I don't yet know what I should be asking.

Seaside - did you have to act as an employer to do this or did you use an agency?

Jane - I keep being offered numbers too. I can't see me getting anything else. Not because they wouldn't if they could but simply because the cuts mean there is not money.

DS's case worker suggested he applied for DP to cover the cost of attending an employment scheme which costs £40 a day we started the application 7 wks ago and he had a telephone assesment by finance dept. 4 wks ago and lady indicated all ok but nothing since.
They can be long winded.

It certainly can Nina. The idea of emergency care for mum was to keep her out of hospital. I wish I had said then that I could not do it as they would have to have done something. As it has now moved into ongoing care I am beginning to see it as ongoing arranging the care as I am still going over to fill in. I think they may end up with both of us costing more in the long run.

GracesGran

Hi, I think I was an employee, but it's around ten years ago now.I don't remember having any problems though we could pay for cate as and when we needed it .

I have decided my job next week is to find out how much the Social Care amount is (I believe it is under the hourly amount most care providers charge) and then contact providers and ask what they could provide and how much they would charge. We already have carers coming in for 1/4 hour first thing that Mum pays for so I can add that amount into the mix too. I can see it would be better if we do it but I think it would be easier to do it through a care company. We will just have to be as clever as possible to get the most for mum I think.

Thank you for the flowers Nina. I bet there are many on here who are caring and I will pass additional bouquets on to them

MiL died a few years ago now. Before 'austerity'. What she was offered 'free' was a 15 minute visit in the morning in which she'd be got up, washed, dressed, breakfasted and put on a bus to a daycare centre. Afternoon visit would receive her from the bus, get her ready for bed and given supper. How they could co ordinate with the bus is a mystery. They couldn't guarantee that there would be any continuity of staff or that she wouldn't receive 'intimate' care from a male assistant. It sounded ridiculously unsuitable as well as unfeasible hence our application for direct payments so we could employ a regular carer. All too late of course.
These were the 'good old days'!

We have had a 15 minute visit which worked for some time but mum was paying for that. It was to 'make her medication available' and, to be honest, see is if she was still with us and hadn't fallen.

Since then mum has deteriorated and we have more alarms but this this time they are offering proper time. Even so the direct payment seems a good idea because they do have a set idea of what a visit should be.

Started my research and found we don't have an actual meal on wheel in mum's town! There is a company that does them so I will find out about that when everyone is open again.

Is the reasoning behind it that there would be more money in the pot if an agency is not taking a cut? Otherwise, it seems like adding one more worry to what is already a stressful situation.

Does the 'meals on wheels' service provide a hot meal or do they come weekly with frozen meals which then have to be re-heated? MIL could not cope with that, could not fathom a microwave and we were too far away to be able to take her a dinner each day.
It is a worry.

An elderly member of our extended family has Wiltshire Farm Foods - but they are delivered frozen. He said they are very good.

There are a few alternatives to Wilshire foods who are comparable. I found it worked well with my mum.
I can't remember the company we settled on, but they also delivered shopping of all the basics.

gg it seems to me that it falls into different categories.

So far I’ve established that there is a Care Act 2014 which I have to read before the social worker turns up. I think that it is important to know exactly what you need, and your entitlements. I very very briefly skimmed read the Act a bit and did see that thecsocial worker must also give consideration of the career.

I was shelving it until after Christmas, but I’ll post what ever I glean, and perhaps you could do the same?

Mum has “martins hot meals” it works out for a full week (which she doesn’t have because I cook lunch for a couple of days) with pudding £49 per week which I don’t think is bad. Lots of choice, plain as you’d expect but perfectly adequate.

I was just thinking that was about the cost of my mums food too.
I think we changed because this company did more pasta based foods, which seemed to be better when reheated. Finding out they did shopping too was wonderful!

gg like you we are and have promised that mum doesn’t go into care. She is such a bright, intelligent and independent person, and I think a care Home would kill her. But at the same time it has been very difficult to persuade her that I/she needs help. But she has finally seen the light. So everything is crossed that we can get some help.

I did look at charges if we did it independently and it would be impossible,

For basic say making the bed tidying up etc. £17 per hour and after that the charge goes up and up.

Mum is exceeding frail now so will almost certainly need personal care before very long.

It is such a minefield whitewave. I think that we can used the money a little more flexibly if they pay it into a Direct Payment account.

Jalima I don't think it is because they assume you will employ someone directly. You have the choice whether to use an agency or employ directly. It is, I think, what they pay per hour. I know our agency said they used to be on the SS preferred list but they couldn't make it work on what they paid so I think Social Care actually pay under the going amount. They know that people will make up for this if they pay directly, either by doing more themselves or by contributing to the account. For us, I think we need to look at everything and see if we can make the money mum already spends (obviously I do, in fact, but you know what I mean) by adding it to what they will contribute. It's a good time for a reassessment - I just hope it doesn't take to long.

Whitewave, you should get a careers assessment. That's if you can find the time. The trouble is we are often dealing with these things after an emergency or a change in how our loved ones are coping so are full steam ahead on their behalf. No time to fill in forms for ourselves.

The meals on wheels I was looking for are the ones delivered hot. That might mean I could transfer some of the available money to the morning and give mum a better start. Some carers will do some housework and if we could roll that into the morning call it would move some money around - not a lot but in the right direction. If they can be there she may trust them more an more to help.

I hope you understand what I mean by this but I am so glad there are others who don't find it easy - it feels a bit like madness at times.

I assume your mum is getting attendance allowance gg? And the Severe Mental Impairment council tax relief? Pension credit? I'm sure you are on top of it all but thought I'd check.