Respite care funding - why can't I get an answer!!!

[NagathaCrispy]

My DH has vascular dementia and a host of other health issues, mobility problems and double incontinence. I care for him at home and we have no support carers or family to help. I manage, but I'm exhausted, and after over 2 years of trying to persuade him, he has agreed to go into a local care facility to give me some respite care.

I viewed a place yesterday which was perfect and am taking him to see it tomorrow. I hope he will like it and agree to go and stay there for a few days to give me a break. The very nice staff member I spoke to yesterday talked me through the costs (eye watering!) and mentioned that I may well be eligible for some support funding, and I have been on the phone to our local council today to try to get more information about this.

But I simply cannot get a yes or no answer out of them, and am being passed around different departments without actually finding out of I am eligible or not.

Has anyone successfully got support for respite care, if so, how did you achieve that, and what level of support did you receive? I am minded to book him into the facility anyway so that I can make plans for a few days away myself, but navigating "the system" is proving to be a minefield. Any advice from anyone who had done this would be gratefully received. Thank you.

To decide if he gets any financial help he will need a care and financial assessment, does he have any benefits like attendance allowance, is he known to social services, they can carry out a care needs assessment .have you ever been involved with his GP, district nurses, therapists. Does he have capacity, do you have power of attorney for him..

No one will be able to give you an answer until someone from adult social care has been allocated to do a Care Act Assessment and someone from the financial assessment team has also completed a financial assessment.

Social Care is means tested so whether he will get any funding is dependent on his financial circumstances.

Even if he is eligible for funding the council's Care Act Assessment also has to show that his level of care need also means he meets the criteria for care (although for respite care the bar is lower as its recognised that it's temporary and required for the carer to have a break).

The care home you have chosen will then also have to accept the local authority rates (which are less than if you organise it privately) and have a contract in place with the local authority.

It's not a fast process I'm afraid for non-emergency situations. Much like for NHS treatments there are waiting lists and a level of gatekeeping applied.

The good news is that the Care Act Assessment and the Financial assessment once completed can be used to consider both respite breaks longer term and also for day to day support at home if you want to consider this.

Ultimately though if you can afford as a one off this respite break that you need now and have already booked it and sorted it then it's highly unlikely the council will be able to move fast enough to provide any funding for this break. Shouldn't mean you can't still go through the motions so it's all in place for the next time.

As the poster above have said, your dad needs a care act assessment and then a financial assessment to see if he eligible for local authority funding for both a package of care and respite care.

This info can help you work out if your dad is eligible for financial support.

https://www.independentage.org/get-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-care-a-care-home

For respite care it is about your needs as much as it is about your DH's needs so if you haven't had one already then getting a carers assessment for yourself is a useful next step.

https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/help-and-advice/topics/carers-assessments/

https://www.nhs.uk/social-care-and-support/support-and-benefits-for-carers/carer-breaks-and-respite-care/

To extend the NHS waiting list analogy further - what you are asking staff at the council to tell you today is sort of equivalent to asking the GP receptionist what date your hip operation will be when you call to make the first appointment with a GP about the pain you are getting in your hip.

No one at this point will be able to tell you what he will be eligible for until he has had all of the assessments.

Hopefully that is reassurance that it's not that the people you speak to are being obtuse or incompetent, they just can't give you an answer because they have no way of knowing what the outcome of any assessments will be.

Thank you for the advice and insights so far.

I have had a carers assessment, and I completed the financial assessment forms a month or so ago and am still awaiting any response, but at least all our financial affairs are on the system. The next step would seem to be a needs assessment for DH, so will work on sorting that out if possible. I am awaiting a call back from my local team, but no idea when that will happen.

At present, I'm planning to take DH to see the place tomorrow, and book him in if he agrees, so at least I'll have a date to work to. From there, I'll just have to work with the process and hopefully make some progress if I want to book another week later in the year.

Thank you all again.

The carehome would also carry out a care needs assessment when you visit and talk to him about having respite care and that he is happy with this. Are you in touch with any support groups like alzheimers uk, age uk, caters uk, are you getting any support with carers at home, equipment, adaptations etc. His GP, district nurses, therapists can help you with this. If you are self funding he may be eligible for fnnc, funded nursing care, if he qualifies, attendance allowance too. It's sounds quite tough, I hope you get some support soon.

Contact your local social services adult help desk, and ask for some support. If he's doubly incontinent, he should qualify for care visits - even if you had the bare bones of 4 visits a day, it's something to take the strain off. I use to work in care, and went through the process of getting help when my Dad was terminally ill. It's back breaking and exhausting - but you need to look after yourself as well as your DH

The GP can also refer him to the continence nurse service at home for assessment, pads on prescription and a disposal system, you can also ask for a home assessment to see if there's any equipment or modifications that may help you both with caring.

Do you have over £23250 in savings, OP? If so then you’ll be paying full charged for any care / respite till your savings drop below this.
Does your DH get attendance allowance?

My advice would have been slightly different if you had included this information in your OP - your OP read like today was the first contact you have had with the council about this?

If you have already had your financial assessment then surely you have been told how much funding he will get towards a respite stay? It's the cost minus whatever you have been told will be his assessed contribution?

What country are you in? England is different to Wales and Scotland/N. Ireland.

This is my undetstanding too, although it's his savings (including half of anything held jointly) rather than their joint savings which count.

Where are you?
in Scotland - not all respite is means tested

Thank you again for the comments everyone. Things have moved on a little. I had a long conversation yesterday with a nice lady from our local social services who has talked me through funding options and the process generally. It seems we are eligible for support finding and I am now waiting for a call back to organise a needs assessment for DH. My SS contact tells me we should get full support given that I am alone in caring for DH. So I will now wait for that assessment to take place and take things from there. She also said she would chase up the financial assessment issue, as I have already submitted our information.

To answer a few things ...... we have had support from the incontinence team, who are lovely and that conversation is on-going. DH refuses to use the pads they supply as they require him to stick them together like a babies nappy, rather than pull them online pair of pants.

We definitely do not have £23,500 in savings! (I wish!). Making progress. Thank you all again.