Panorama - Elderly Care

[Daven]

If you become old and aren't able to look after yourself anymore you will be expected to pay in the region of £450 PER WEEK to live in a residential home. This is not funded by the NHS - 'cradle to the grave' care it ain't.

Better start saving now...............

[Jason Bourne]

If you become old and aren't able to look after yourself anymore you will be expected to pay in the region of £450 PER WEEK to live in a residential home. This is not funded by the NHS - 'cradle to the grave' care it ain't.

Better start saving now...............

 

There was uproar a few years ago (when New Labour were still in charge) in that if you had substantial savings and assets, you had to pay for your own care in old age, while if you had NO savings, then social services would pay up.

 

The right-wing media went bananas at this news, saying that people who'd been thrifty and careful with their money throughout their life and paid into the system and owned their own home would have to sell the home to fund their care, while unemployed people who'd never worked and never paid into the system would get care for free.

 

Is that 'safety net' (or loophole, depending on your view) now closed?

[Daven]

There was uproar a few years ago (when New Labour were still in charge) in that if you had substantial savings and assets, you had to pay for your own care in old age, while if you had NO savings, then social services would pay up.

 

The right-wing media went bananas at this news, saying that people who'd been thrifty and careful with their money throughout their life and paid into the system and owned their own home would have to sell the home to fund their care, while unemployed people who'd never worked and never paid into the system would get care for free.

 

Is that 'safety net' (or loophole, depending on your view) now closed?

 

No. My lovely Mum has advanced Alzheimers disease and lives in a LOVELY care home in Sheffield and has been there for two and a half years now. She has been totally self funding since she went in there - always been a thrifty lady, always saving for a 'rainy day' but shares the home with many others who have not a penny to their name and so their care bill is picked up by social services. It is SO unfair but I try not to dwell on it too much or it would tear me apart. Our priority is Mum and since we know that she is happy in her own world and well fed and cared for we are content with that.

We are going through the 'retrospective claim for care' at the moment since her incapacity is caused by an illness rather than just 'old age' and she should be eligible for refund of many funds from the NHS who should have paid for a lot of her care for the past two and a half years. Needless to say, the wheels turn very slowly and it seems as though funding will take many months and may not even arrive before Mum passes away.

[tinfoilhat]

No. My lovely Mum has advanced Alzheimers disease and lives in a LOVELY care home in Sheffield and has been there for two and a half years now. She has been totally self funding since she went in there - always been a thrifty lady, always saving for a 'rainy day' but shares the home with many others who have not a penny to their name and so their care bill is picked up by social services. It is SO unfair but I try not to dwell on it too much or it would tear me apart. Our priority is Mum and since we know that she is happy in her own world and well fed and cared for we are content with that.

We are going through the 'retrospective claim for care' at the moment since her incapacity is caused by an illness rather than just 'old age' and she should be eligible for refund of many funds from the NHS who should have paid for a lot of her care for the past two and a half years. Needless to say, the wheels turn very slowly and it seems as though funding will take many months and may not even arrive before Mum passes away.

 

Can totally empathise with this - all though you'll struggle getting any continuing care money from the Nhs, the bar is stupidly high. Cradle to grave does apply but only to those who have either never worked or never saved, you and your mum are subbing those. That said, you have greater choices than those totally dependent on the state. If standards drop (hopefully they won't ) you can take your mum and her money to somewhere else - a choice others might not have. Take heart from that, I do.

[Daven]

Can totally empathise with this - all though you'll struggle getting any continuing care money from the Nhs, the bar is stupidly high. Cradle to grave does apply but only to those who have either never worked or never saved, you and your mum are subbing those. That said, you have greater choices than those totally dependent on the state. If standards drop (hopefully they won't ) you can take your mum and her money to somewhere else - a choice others might not have. Take heart from that, I do.

 

Thanks for that tinfoilhat - it's very hard isn't it ?

Mum had always been a very fit, active and fiercely independent lady up until about 78 years of age and then everything started to change. It's soul destroying watching someone you love so much 'disappearing' before your eyes and there's nothing you can do about it.

Dementia has been described as the 'long goodbye - a protracted grieving process since your loved one is still with you physically but has 'departed' mentally.

I take a lot of comfort from her lovely smile when I visit - she still recognises me but I'm never entirely sure if she actually knows who I am - I have been her daughter for 53 years.

[fairyworld14]

I agree Dementia is a dreadful disease . My Dad was in respite just before he went into hospital & I don't think the home could cope with someone like my Dad & I strongly feel the staff need to attend more Dementia Awareness Courses because they just didn't know how to deal with my Dad . They weren't cruel just ignorant

[domreed91]

Panorama have got me very worried atm especially as many people in my family receive care . My nan actually gets care at home from this care company based in Sheffield called Home Instead, has anyone heard of them? she says they are really good and have never mistreated her, in fact I have spoken to one of the carers many times whilst I've been round hers and they are very friendly and just seem genuine. I looked them up online and apparently they don't bid for local authority care contracts as it drives the quality of care down. Now from my understanding of it, that means that local authorities only want a certain amount of care given to indviduals from care providers who do bid for these care contracts,therefore this restricts the quality of care. I'm thinking these care providers are the ones mistreating people

[Jason Bourne]

No. My lovely Mum has advanced Alzheimers disease and lives in a LOVELY care home in Sheffield and has been there for two and a half years now. She has been totally self funding since she went in there - always been a thrifty lady, always saving for a 'rainy day' but shares the home with many others who have not a penny to their name and so their care bill is picked up by social services. It is SO unfair but I try not to dwell on it too much or it would tear me apart. Our priority is Mum and since we know that she is happy in her own world and well fed and cared for we are content with that.

We are going through the 'retrospective claim for care' at the moment since her incapacity is caused by an illness rather than just 'old age' and she should be eligible for refund of many funds from the NHS who should have paid for a lot of her care for the past two and a half years. Needless to say, the wheels turn very slowly and it seems as though funding will take many months and may not even arrive before Mum passes away.

 

I'm sorry to hear of this Daven, I wish you all the best.

[Peer Gynt]

'Care' homes bill the council hundreds of pounds per week for each 'customer'.

 

We hear the same twaddle about how much it costs per week to keep prisoners in prison.

Even prison officers can't explain where the figures come from.

[Mandem]

 

 

If everybody paid a fixed percentage of their income into a ring-fenced fund set up to provide old age care then the councils would have enough money to set up decent care homes with well-qualified, well-motivated and well-paid staff.

 

Unfortunately - notwithstanding what we've been brought up to believe - 12% NIC does not pay for each and every service we want (and need.)

 

Unfortunately it we did this, the Government would find some excuse to plunder the money, as they did with the miners pensions, and some private pensions.

 

Its like Anna B says in post 13, why don't they ever tell about the good care homes, my daughter works in one which has an excellent record, for kindness and care, burt you never hear about those homes.