Increase in top-up fees as needs Nursing Care?

[bigTillyMint]

My mother has been in a lovely care home for 4 1/2 years. She was placed there by LA Social Workers when her dementia worsened and she couldn’t manage at home. They chose the home. Luckily the staff are fantastic and we are very happy with it.

She was self funding till about a year ago. LA now funds (pension also goes to pay) and we agreed that we would pay a £50pw top up which cannot by law be paid by her, as we didn’t want her to have to move.

The home and LA MH team now feel she needs nursing care. She can stay in the home and be moved upstairs which is great, but the home say the top-up will now be £100pw.

Has anyone else had experience of this? Any advice?

TIA

It was the same for both my DGM’s. The family have had to pay extra as nursing care has an extra cost.
One DGM had 6 children so, split between them all, it wasn’t too much. However once she deteriorated further and needed specialist dementia care her existing home could no longer handle her needs (& her behaviour) and she had to move homes and the top up increased further.
My other DGM has, now her own funds have been used, been recently assessed as now needing nursing care and DF & his 2 siblings will have to fund the extra.
I don’t know the amounts but I do know it will be a struggle, especially for DF.

Isnt there a nursing allowance you can apply for? A bit like attendace allowance? I'm sure there is. Ask the home.

We had an NHS allowance towards nursing costs when my father was in a home. I’m not sure whether it covered the whole extra amount.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-continuing-healthcare/

Google NHS funded nursing care. It's around £158 per week.

Thank you everyone for your replies! I’m off to google

Ah, it looks like you might be talking about the Continuing Healthcare which she was assessed for a little while back and isn’t bad enough to get.
But I’m going to check with the home and her Social Worker whether there’s anything else that can be done.

Thanks. If I find anything useful out, I’ll post it here for others.

My Mil is self funding and she gets £185 per week for nursing care. Speak to the home/social worker/local council.
This is a right for all nursing care.

Yes, there is an extra element provided by the NHS for nursing care (not the CHC). Though I suspect they may have taken that into account already. I think there is around a £300 p/w difference between care home and nursing home, at least around where I live.

Ah yes, I have now found that information - thanks! I’m going to contact her home and Social worker to see if she is eligible.

This is a right for all nursing care. It's not that simple. It depends on needs, if your nursing needs aren't great enough, you don't get it. Our nursing home contracts says that if the resident isn't eligible for the NHS funded nursing care, then any medical needs they have will be dealt with by district nurses not by the nursing home nurses. This is the thing we're talking about
www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-funded-nursing-care/