NHS Continuing Healthcare Archives - Page 31 of 31

Domiciliary care

If you need domiciliary care – or care at home – you have various options, including:

Carers popping in once or several times a day

Visits from a District Nurse

Family member moving in with you (or vice versa)

Some home adaptations and mobility equipment may be available free of charge. It’s always worth asking. Gov.uk has a lot of other additional information, too.

Paying for care at home

Talk to Social Services AND to your GP. Make sure the focus remains firmly on your health needs first and foremost – not on how much money you have. Your GP may assume that it’s a matter wholly for Social Services, but if you have health needs, the NHS needs to be involved. At some point you may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.

If you feel you can no longer stay in your current home, you may not necessarily have to move into a care home. You may be able to find sheltered housing locally – or perhaps move into a care ‘village’ or retirement village, such as those run by ExtraCare.

Another option that requires a great deal of careful thought is to have a family member move in with you at home (or vice versa). This is a big step for all concerned and it’s a good idea to take financial advice before you do it, as it could affect your benefits and other aspects of your entitlement to care.

How To Choose A Care Home

This 39-page practical guide helps you ask the right questions, understand how care fees work and make a better decision. You’ll save time now – and avoid unnecessary care costs later. It also gives you a helpful introduction to care fees and fully-funded NHS care. Read more about How To Choose A Care Home.

“Your list of questions to ask a care home is fantastic… I was more confident in the meetings, and that must be apparent to the care home, too.” Jim Blainey

Help for families – advice about care

When someone goes into a care home it can be a very difficult time for the whole family. It’s often a crisis point and, aside from the emotional upheaval, you’re also faced with the question of care fees and who will pay them.

Lasting Power of Attorney

If you have an elderly parent or relative in care and you find yourself with the responsibility of acting on their behalf, it’s vital that you have a Power of Attorney. Without it you may find it difficult at times to have influence where you need to.

This is a crucial first step – especially if you are dealing with financial institutions, NHS departments and other organisations. Find out more about Powers of Attorney.

Care fees

Your next challenge may well be understanding the care fees system. It can be a bit like being thrown in the deep end. You don’t know what you don’t know – and it can be hard to know where to go to find out.

It’s always reassuring to find someone on your side who’s been through the process before. At Care To Be Different we aim to light a clearer way forward for you. We provide helpful tips, information and guidance to help you manage some of the difficult issues that can arise when an elderly relative goes into care.

Going into a care home

If you’re going into a care home yourself, and are currently still living at home, it may feel as though other family members are ‘taking over’ and organising things for you. You may feel happy about this. On the other hand you may feel you want to resist every suggestion and/or retain control.

There’s no right or wrong way to feel. It’s good to be aware though that tensions within a family are natural at a time like this and the more everyone pulls together and talks things through, the easier it will be.

Health assessments

It can be challenging talking to people ‘in authority’, especially when you’re unsure if what they’re saying is correct and you’re not sure where the responsibility lies for different services.

GPs do not always know how the care system works or what the specific health needs assessment proceses are, including for NHS Continuing Healthcare. That’s why it’s vital to be as informed as possible.

Hospital care

If you have an elderly relative in hospital, you may not be aware of the procedures that the hospital should follow before your relative is discharged. Read more about hospitals and elderly people.

5 things to check before your relative is discharged from hospital

Still living at home?