Nursing homes and chc.

[Figcherry]

My df has been in hospital for 9 weeks.
Twice they have tried to discharge him to a nursing home but he has been returned to hospital within 24 hours.
Were not happy with the home they've chosen as when dsis returned to pick up his belongings him room had a sticky floor, stunk of urine and his pj's and razor have disappeared.
Today the hospital Dr has said that he will be given the first bed available regardless if it's this home.
We're looking to find a home near my db but struggling.
Df needs care in bed.
He can't walk, feed himself, he has lost over 2st and gets very agitated.

Can we pursue chc funding?
We don't have poa, can we refuse the nursing home if we're not happy.

My understanding is that a checklist is done by professionals and submitted to CHC to see if someone is entitled to be assessed for funding. If they decide to assess the criteria to receive CHC funding is stringent and needs to be proved that some aspects of care need to be provided by a registered nurse and falls outside of the remit of carers. This includes things like complex wound dressings, tracheostomy care etc. Being bed bound, needing feeding etc won’t count as can be provided by carers. But absolutely ask and try to get your dad assessed.

Why did the home send him back? Are they even prepared to take him again?

It's very hard to get CHC funding and needs to have complex needs requiring nursing care as opposed to that that can be given by care assistants.

The first admission to the home df had hospital acquired pneumonia and was sent back to hospital within 1 hour of arriving.
The second time he pulled his catheter out 10 hours after arriving at the nursing home and caused bladder trauma.
Dsis went to get some of his belongings for hospital and it was obvious the room had been left unlocked and people had wandered in.

I would get nasty back. The hospital have arranged an unsuitable discharge, twice. These constant back and forth situations are making things worse for your dad. Can they please HELP you find a place where you can support him better so that there is a fighting chance of the discharge working?

It is very unlikely the hospital will apply for CHC funding as the whole process takes a long time. The most they would ever do is apply for Fast Track CHC but this is only for people with a very short prognosis.

Very few people are actually eligible for CHC as you need to have demonstrated very complex care needs - being cared for in bed or needing help with feeding are not complex.

CHC funding doesn't automatically get you a better care home either if that is what you are hoping for. It gets you funding for a place that can meet your needs even if you don't especially like it.

My parent was discharged to a nursing home on fast track CHC. At discharge the nursing home they were discharged to was the correct setting but as health has settled (no longer expected to die within a few months) the home no longer meets needs as it's more for very unwell or terminal dementia patients. It has taken many visits and a lot of time but a suitable nursing home has been found with a bed available within a few weeks. We will then move my parent. Long CHC assessment was conducted a few weeks after discharge with the outcome being nursing would be funded (up to £250 per week) but the residential portion would be self funded. This decision remains in place for 1 year when it will be reassessed. No choice on where initial discharge was to (had to be a nursing home not just care home) because beds in nursing homes are few and far between but we were advised we could move to an alternative setting if one became available and met the criteria set out in the CHC report.

Good luck OP. Get POA if you can once your Dad is settled as it will make a huge difference to how you are spoken to by everyone!

Good news.
The sw is going to recommend that df is not discharged until db has found a suitable home near him
That gives us a breathing space to look properly.

You absolutely have a say in where your father is discharged to regardless of whether you have POA or not. Sadly too many families are put under pressure because hospitals are trying to reduce bed blocking.

You can look at sites like https://lottie.org/care-home/ to compare options in the relevant area and look at the type of care he needs. Hope that's helpful when looking for the right options for him - I know it can be so overwhelming.