Making the decision that you or your loved one can no longer be safely supported at home and need to go into a Care Home can be a difficult one.
However, if you take the time to research and get to know the Care Home and what support the carers can offer you it can be a much less daunting decision. You should look at a number of care homes to see which one would suit you best.
The Care Quality Commission inspects Care Homes so you can check the care home’s rating. The rating is a snap shot at the time of inspection so it is always best to look further than the report.
https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/inspection-reports
Before going to the Care Home their Team should assess your needs to make sure that they can offer you the right level of care. Care Homes are adapting their assessment process to reduce the risk to you and your loved ones during lockdown and a lot of assessments are done with a combination of discussions with you, your loved one, family members and carers who have been supporting you at home over the telephone or by virtual face to face meetings.
The Care Home needs to do this assessment to understand your care needs and make sure your care plan, detailing the care you will receive in the Care Home, is correctWe have found that during Covid-19 a lot of care homes have adapted embracing technology to ensure that their residents can remain in touch with their loved ones even if they can’t see them during lockdown. This is so important when visits are restricted. Make sure the Care Home you are looking at is able to offer this additional support.
Paying for care
You may have to pay for your care or make a contribution towards it if you have a certain amount of savings.
If you are unable to deal with your finances any more, and you have not appointed Attorneys under a Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney, then until someone is appointed to deal with your finances, you or your family member, should not enter into a contract to pay for care because that family member could be taking on a personal liability.
If you have appointed an Attorney or a Deputy has been appointed to deal with your finances they can review and enter into the contract and can access your monies to pay for your care. An Attorney or Deputy will need to manage your money to make sure you can pay for your care and can request a financial assessment from your local council if your assets fall below a certain amount.
This useful link provides more information about funding for care
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/means-tests-for-help-with-care-costs-how-they-work
If you have not made a Lasting Power of Attorney to deal with your finances it is worth doing now, whilst you are able to, in order to ensure that the people you trust can take over dealing with your finances when you can’t manage them yourself.
Making a Lasting Power of Attorney to deal with your Health and Welfare can be very useful because if you do not have capacity to make decisions about your care then your Attorneys are there to put forward your wishes and to get the quality of care that you need.
If you wish to obtain advice about making a Lasting Power of Attorney please contact Holly Waddelow, our Court of Protection specialist, on 01295 661454 or by email on hollywaddelow@brethertons.co.uk.
For information about acting as an Attorney please visit our attorney pages.