Possibly going into nursing / care home

[im5050]

My dad owns 50 percent of his house & a life interest the other 50 percent was given to my sister and son in my mums will when she passed away
This was all done legally and is noted on the land registry .
He’s presently in hospital after having several falls this week and he may have had a stroke but the doctors have been mentioning about him going into a care home which we are all onboard with if it’s for the best for him . As we couldn’t care for him .
He’s a big man and I can’t pick him up when he falls over as he is literally a dead weight as he can’t support his weight or help himself to get up

His home is completely unsuitable for him to live in on his own if it is a stroke
He already has loads of aids - disabled wet room stair lift riser / recliner chair so not much more he could get
He has very limited mobility and he can’t grab stuff either .
So What happens if he had to go into a nursing home.
Do we sell the house if so how long do we get to sell it as we couldn’t afford the fees ourself to pay for nursing home
The house is in a complete mess so would probably go to auction and we would need to remove stuff like stairlift
Any advice on how all this works would be much appreciated

Sorry to hear this. Does he have a social worker? There should be help from the hospital discharge team.
Age uk can give you financial advice but you can arrange deferred payments of fees until the house is sold.
Hopefully an expert or two on here will add to this. @hatgirl
Is a rehab placement possible? Do push for ongoing input from falls team/ physios wherever he is.

He will only be financially assessed only on the 50% that he owns.

The local authority can't force the other owners to sell but what they can/ will do is register a deferred payment on the 50% he does own so when it is sold whenever that is in the future they will get whatever he owed for his care, up to the point his savings and assets are above £24k.

Get solicitors involved and get it valued as things stand currently.

But, it's still REALLY early days. Doctors are often great at saying 'off to a care home you go' but most of the time they have zero idea about the actual practical and legal process behind that decision. Doctors like care home discharges because they are quick and easy and free up a hospital bed quickly.

Ultimately what happens next depends on what your dad wants and his mental capacity to make that decision. A few days is like a year on an acute hospital ward and a lot can change very quickly. Let him have all of his OT assessments etc and see where the land lies when they are actually saying his is medically fit for discharge.

Absolutely insist on having a social work assessment before making any decisions, currently this will most likely buy him a few free cost weeks in a care home and a bit of breathing space to make a proper decision.

I should clarify that I meant that the LA won't force the other owners to sell the minute someone goes into a care home, but usually once the person in question passes away the LA may start becoming a bit more insistent about getting the house on the market.

It is early days though for your dad, just take each day as it comes at the moment and just make the best decision you can at the point you actually have to make a decision

Thank you all so much for your advice and kind words
At the moment I’m just trying to make sure that we are well informed on the process of what might happen and what to expect
Thank you will definitely get a social work assessment

So glad @hatgirl appeared!
Good luck🌺🌺