care home fees £795 per week is this reasonable?

[funnyperson]

DH has said that as FIL is ill he is to be in a care home costing £795 a week. MIL doesnt want to/cant look after him.
There is chef cooked food and a live pianist.
According to DH the cost is coming from FIL's pension. I had no idea FIL was that well off and think it is more likely coming from DH's pension pot.
Anyway is this level of fees common in Dorset?

I'm not in your area but that doesn't sound unusual. Fees are usually paid by the resident until they have less than a certain amount of funds left then SS contributes also.

Age Uk website has lots of good info about how funding works and about claiming all applicable benefits also. I work in a home.
I would prioritise good food and good staff ratios over a pianist. Make unexpected visits at different times of day.

Ask away with any questions

when Dh and DS visited , FIL had facial bruising from a 'fall' out of bed. Is this common? What should one do?

Bed rails can be helpful here.
But if he is likely to climb over them it may be safer to have low bed and padded mats on floor. You can get an assessment about the risks of staying in the home to see if handles and removing trip hazards etc will be enough?

But bruising to face could also mean a head injury. Some medications can mean bruising with minimal trauma though.

Ask the home for a break down of costs to ensure they are not over charging for administration fees. Depending on the needs of a person the cost can o up & down. For example if your FIL required any personnel care or 1-1 on outings the cost would go up. This is usually shown in hours on a cost break down.

Also check the staffing ratios/food hygiene standard/staff training and the CQC rating of the last inspection.

HTH OP

sadly yes, I know a few care homes but none with a pianist, I know one in Weymouth which has a private cinema. The cost sounds fairly average as well.

Is it a Care home or a Nursing home? Those costs say Nursing home to me and he may not need that. If he does, then he may qualify for NHS help which is worth about £90 pw.

My Grandmother went into a Nursing home when her Dementia became too severe for home carers to handle. That was January this year, and she passed away end of April. The Nursing home was £775 pw and we don't live in a cheap area.

Research prior to her moving in showed us that it was around £550 pw for a care home, and up to £950 pw for a Nursing home.

HTH

We paid 1300 a week for DM. ( she needed lots of personal care)
Doubly incontinent, couldn't feed herself. We had her assessed several times, but could only get minimal help with costs, as she didn't need any medical help as such, other than administering medication, and changing catheter. She was almost totally paralysed, so we felt unable to look after her ourselves. She was also very very confused.
1300 a week for 3 years until my lovely DM died.
Yet it was worth it as the care was very good, and the nurses and HCA's were fabulous, especially towards the end

Thank you, everyone above.
I think you are right, this must be a nursing home, it has been recommended by FIL's surgeon. Does this mean he would qualify for an NHS contribution?
When assessing finances do they take the value of his home into account if MIL is still living in it?
Should there be a written care plan at all? My own dad is looked after at home and we have a written care plan but there doesnt seem to be one for FIL who is confused and has an indwellling catheter.

How would your dh be paying it out his pension? You need to check this

Hi FP. I've seen 12 in the Dorset area in the last year and the cheapest I have seen is £650. Our local SS one charges £710 for self funding patients so I would say £795 is pretty average. Mum's are 1k a week for residential care. She was first on the nursing rate then it went down by £150 a week.

The value of the house will not be taken into account if MIL still living it. Also when someone is first deemed as needing residential care there is something called the 12 week disregard which comes into play. I know the value of the house is disregarded, I think it is also the value of all assets. I'm fairly sure he will be assessed on his share of the marital assets but not the house. Assets over 23k and he is self funding

However there is sometimes help. If self funding and no other help then he still will get his Attendance Allowance. If he is deemed as needing care that can only be provided by a RGN then there is a payment of about £108 from the NHS.

The other possibility is Continuing Health Care. If he is eligible for that then all his assets are disregarded and the NHS will pay. However it is very difficult to get and most people have to appeal. There's a check list online which gives you an idea of the criteria.

There should be a written care plan which usually covers such things as everyday care, meds and also wishes re DNR. Re the fall I would want to know that he has received medical attention and want a plan from the CH as to how they will attempt to prevent this in future eg bed rail, different bed etc. I'm going to PM you.