Kate Garroway-Care at home costs

I have much sympathy for her, money does not take grief away

Oh thank you.
I must have missed that.

Hopefully she will be able to pay it off, if it's her responsibility to do so, then.

JaneJudge

I think people are very critical of carers if they haven't lived day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year doing it. People seem to think they could do a better job. It is so easy to sit on the sidelines imagining how much better you would be, how you would not complain or moan or get upset or frustrated. You would spring out of bed every day and polish your halo, it would be such fun and there would be no worry about yourself, no worrying what will happen if I get ill. What will happen if I can't afford this, that and the other.

The simplistic nature of some of the replies, oh sorting continence products off the nhs is just one phonecall etc. It is really quite demeaning to those of us who have struggled to work (must work harder etc) and have to deal with frustrating systems and benefits and deal with professionals who think you should just get up an hour earlier, go to bed an hour later on top of caring.

There are lots of carers and people who are ill or disabled who are our neighbours. They live isolated lives in many cases, they don't need to be judged and Kate doesn't need to be judged either. I think people are uncomfortable with people being honest about difficult their lives might be and I don't know where that attitude stems from

We are not talking about an ordinary carer here though are we, as you will see from my other replies I have been there more than most. I know only too well what it is like. However Kate had a live in carer 24/7 I am sure he could have sorted the pads, it seems so trivial for her even to mention that she did not know where to turn for them. If anything I think it is undermining the common sense of the average carer. She is a famous woman who has got every contact under the sun, I am sure Dr. Hilary would have told her for one!! She actually admitted to phoning him when she was not sure what to do because she did not think Derek had a temperature, I ask you!!

What are you asking win. You said said you had been there more than most

Anniebach

I have much sympathy for her, money does not take grief away

I think we all have sympathy for her loss, if you have lost a loved one you will know how hard it is to move on when you have cared for a long time. That however if a different issue to the funding.

Loving is caring

So of those of us who cared for a loved ones, did we all work full time, too?
Difficult to get carers allowance for caring 35 hours a week and working the same amount, too.

Are people saying that Kate (or rather, Derek) was getting something they shouldnt have?

Did they cover up ownership of expensive houses?

Anniebach

What are you asking win. You said said you had been there more than most

It was not a question as such more of a statement. I was amazed she would state that she rang Dr.Hilary because she was not sure whether Derek had a temperature or not, nor sure what she should do. I would suggest she should have taken his temperature to make sure presuming she had a thermometer like most households do. That is what I was referring to, I find it impossible to understand that a lady in her position can be quite so "naive" I suppose might be the word I'm looking for.

Could she have panicked and needed reassurance? , obviously she didn’t have your wisdom

MissAdventure

So of those of us who cared for a loved ones, did we all work full time, too?
Difficult to get carers allowance for caring 35 hours a week and working the same amount, too.

Are people saying that Kate (or rather, Derek) was getting something they shouldnt have?

Did they cover up ownership of expensive houses?

No I don't think anyone is suggesting any of that, all we are discussing is whether Derek should have been funded or not. (he was not as you will know, but Kate and lots of people think he should have been)
We are also discussing how much good Derek's story will do for unpaid carers as a whole, I am personally hoping Kate's interviews will do more for unpaid carers than Derek's story although it has certainly got people talking about it all, which can only be a good thing. We need as much awareness of unpaid carers as we can get.
To answer your other question yes I have been a 24/7 hands on carer 3 times now and had CHC for 2 of my loved ones. I chose to give up a managing position to care for my late husband but was too old to claim carers allowance. We lost two good income overnight. I would do it all over again though.

Win One of the low points of looking after my husband (and I'd been doing it for several years) was when an emergency doctor came to see him because he was in a lot of pain. "Has he got a temperature?" asked the Doctor. "Oh no I don't think so" was my answer. When the doctor took his temperature it was 40 degrees and he was actually seriously ill with peritonitis!

So say Derek had not gone home to Kate. Where would he have gone? To a nursing home? Standard nursing home fees on the nursing floor would be maybe £1400 per week. But in Dereks case would he have been allocated 1:1 care within the home? And Derek himself would have been responsible for paying for his care.
So Kate is in debt because she has personally taken responsibility for Dereks care. This, most of us would not be in a position to do that would we? Do you think I have this right?

I can’t comment on you, but I would always take the temperature before phoning out GP. It is the first thing they ask also how do you know what you are dealing with?

Yes and know you may have got it right but I am not sure Kate has personally paid for everything she would have used Dereks money presumably to pay for his care as this is how it works. If that dried up she would have used their joint funds and even her own if she had that sort of arrangement. We all do the finances differently as we saw on a recent thread on here.
I am not sure Derek would have been awarded 1to1 care in a nursing home, he was recovering at that stage and would definitely not have had the level of treatment he did at home. Their choice. he would presumably have been self funding unless everything is in Kates name. We do not know any of it for sure just that she says SHE is in debt, which indicates Derek left her very little or nothing at all!! As others have said. She does not need two houses so can hopefully pay the debt off quickly. Anyway we do not know by how much it could be less than we imagine and that she is merely making a point

Sorry some predictive text and typos I was on the iPad

pigsmayfly.

So say Derek had not gone home to Kate. Where would he have gone? To a nursing home? Standard nursing home fees on the nursing floor would be maybe £1400 per week. But in Dereks case would he have been allocated 1:1 care within the home? And Derek himself would have been responsible for paying for his care.
So Kate is in debt because she has personally taken responsibility for Dereks care. This, most of us would not be in a position to do that would we? Do you think I have this right?

£1400 certainly wouldn't cover care in our area. We are paying £2150 a week plus the Nursing Component which goes straight to the home. My Mum's last home was £1800 per week but that would be more now.

Whilst I feel sorry for KG and everyone else who is in this position she has a second home she can sell and ways of making a very good income, many others do not have the same income or property

That was the point of the programme.
To highlight how difficult it is for people other than Kate.

I think I am right in saying that Derek's company went bankrupt? As he was not there to keep it going?

No idea what different that makes to funding, as I dont know anything about the subject.

In case anyone reads this far - when my dad was in hospital in Cyprus, it was expected that a family member would stay with him (day and night) and provide the necessary "care" - washing, feeding, pillow plumping and, of course, company.
Why not have some small houses or flats on the hospital site where families and the patient can stay but have doctors etc on hand. (could another storey be built on perhaps to facilitate this?) Surely the rental cost would be less than £16k a month - family could be together - doctors and consultants nearby - and the family home could be rented out to cover some of the rental cost if needed. 24/7 care for patient, less worry for family.

I do not think the personal financial circumstances of this family are the point.

What the programme has done is to highlight the high cost of care for everyone, but more so for those with complex needs. Hopefully it might start a national debate about how this should be funded, and has opened the eyes of many to the burdens of caring (both personal and financial). And the difficulty of providing care that is dignified and sensitive to the individual's needs. This is especially true of younger adults, where care in a nursing home is often entirely inappropriate.

Surely if this country in its present parlous economic state cannot afford to give pensioners enough to keep some of them warm and fed and need food banks to feed working families it goes without saying that at this time, it cannot afford tens of thousands of £s to keep people in homes fully funded.
We need a drastic overhaul of insurance, paid for from working age ,to fund it
The idea of a welfare state and NHS from “the cradle to the grave” is so unrealistic.

I am aware that people will say we are already paying this in National Insurance
My point is that this is just not enough for today’s needs.

annsixty

I am aware that people will say we are already paying this in National Insurance
My point is that this is just not enough for today’s needs.

I totally agree with you