A question

[Slingsanderrors]

I visited a very elderly (89) ex neighbour/ friend today, she lives alone, has recently has several falls and been hospitalised, fractured hip and shoulder. Now home but there seems to be no NHS help at all, she’s self funding carers 3 x daily @£300 weekly and also private physio x 3 weekly at £240 a week. she’s been told she’s not entitled to any nhs/ social care help. Is this right? )

in her situation it would be normal to be offered some kind of reablement service which is usually free for a few weeks when discharged home - can you make sure she hasn't declined this or had a misunderstanding about it e.g. there's a waiting list and she's opted to go home with private care rather than wait?

however after the reablement is complete if care is still needed then Social care is means tested so if she is over the threshold for having to pay the full cost then there is no financial help from the local authority (or nhs) to pay for carers to come in.

that doesn't mean that help isn't available - she is entitled to a Care Act Assessment completed by Adult Social Care even if the outcome of that is that she needs care and subsequently is financially assessed as having to pay for it in full.

She is also entitled to occupational therapy supports but in some local authorities there can be long waiting list for this.

if she has nursing needs that need to be met at home (leg dressings, wound care, diabetes management etc) then the district nurses will provide this for free.

physiotherapy can be provided by the NHS but again long waiting lists mean that if you want it quickly and can afford to pay privately then you can.

Having more cash than £24k made a difference to carers when my father was Terminally Ill at home.

he did get a non means tested benefit attendance allowence, that comes at 2 levels of payment but with carers coming in it’s be unlikely she’d not qualify

She should get a few weeks of reablement care after discharge, which can include physio and visiting carers. But after that if she has savings over the threshold she wouldn't get carers paid for. She might still qualify for ongoing physio, but in my experience she'll get a lot more benefit from a private one.

Thanks for the replies, she is over the threshold with savings (although they won’t last long at that rate!) She had 2 weeks in a care home (NHS funded) after discharge from hospital, but wasn’t offered physio or OT. She’s benefiting hugely from the private physio so is quite happy to pay for it.
Ive suggested she contacts Age UK to see if she’s entitled to anything more.
She’s absolutely on the ball mentally, and wants to stay in her home as long as possible.

She's probably better off (physically not financially!) paying for the private physio. A retired friend recently fell and had a nasty broken ankle. She'd had three private physio sessions before she even heard from the NHS physio about the timeframe for their physio! In terms of maintaining levels of mobility this makes a big difference.

Exactly what @EmotionalBlackmail said above about private physio - NHS physio is there but in my experience comes late and scanty.

She should have had a home OT/Falls assessment around the time of discharge to advise on an adaptations or equipment she might need.

Rather than looking at the care provision I would start with is she claiming all the benefits she is entitled to. For example attendance allowance.

Maximising her income gives her the ability to buy in care. Sadly the threshold to get paid care is very high as you need to be on a very low income, not own your own home and have very few savings.

not own your own home and have very few savings.

has that changed since 2020? My father owned his own home and it wasn't taken into account - just his savings

As long as you or a dependent are living in the home it isn't taken into account.