Guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care emphasises that residents should be allowed to exercise choice about their care.
These choices will include a choice to enter our residential care, as well as the choice to enter care homes where the fees are higher than assessed by us, but relatives or carers wish to pay the difference.
Everyone is obliged to use their income and capital to maintain themselves.
Residents who have more than £23,250 in savings or capital assets - this will include the proceeds from a house which they have sold - will be responsible for paying their own fees. This rate is usually reviewed each April. However, for the first 12 weeks of permanent residential care your home is disregarded for charging purposes.
Residents who have savings under £23,250 may be eligible for financial assistance from us to meet their fees up to an agreed level, dependent on the outcome of an assessment of their means.
For further information, to find out if you are eligible for help to meet the costs of your care and to apply, you need to complete a financial self-assessment.
The self-assessment will also give you an indication of the amount you may be asked to pay as well as other advice and assistance to help you to claim any appropriate benefits.
When you submit your self-assessment you will be asked to provide evidence and documents to confirm the amounts that you have entered. These could be photos or copies of bank books, statements and income details to verify your assets.
Complete a financial self-assessment
The amount you need to pay will be confirmed in writing when your self-assessment information and evidence has been reviewed.
Following your financial assessment you'll be able to retain some money for your personal use. The amount of this personal expense allowance is determined annually by the government. This is currently £28.25 per week.
If you own a property this may be taken into account when determining how much you have to contribute towards the cost of your accommodation. However, there are various government initiatives and schemes which may be available to you while you consider selling your property. If this applies to you, you should seek our advice in order that your circumstances can be considered. You can contact Call Derbyshire tel: 01629 533190 for more information.
Deferred payment scheme
A deferred payment helps if you have to pay the full cost of your residential care but cannot afford to pay the full weekly charge because most of your capital is tied up in your home.
Under the scheme, we offer you a loan using your home as security. It's not the same as a conventional loan as we do not give you a fixed amount of money. Instead we pay an agreed part of your care home bill for as long as necessary. The money is paid back to us when the money tied up in your home is released.
This can mean that you don't have to sell your home in your lifetime if you don't want to and you may be able to keep more of your income as part of a deferred payment agreement.
Quality premium payments
We operate a scheme to reinforce quality standards in care homes.
Each home that we contract with, has been given the opportunity to apply to become a quality premium provider. Any home that has qualified has been asked to demonstrate that it meets standards in staff training and competence, including NVQ training, moving and handling, availability of single rooms and payment arrangements. An additional payment is then made by us to homes that have attained quality premium status.
People who need to choose a home would be advised to check if the home is a quality premium provider.
Top-ups
You can also choose a more expensive home if there is someone else, like a relative or friend, willing to pay the extra cost, but be sure that this arrangement is likely to last or you may have to move again later. These are commonly referred to as 'top-ups' or 'third-party payments'.
A third party is someone who agrees to pay a top-up to enable a relative or friend to go into a home that charges more for care than social services can support. The top-up is in addition to the amount that you are asked to pay from your own income and savings.
The amount of the top-up is agreed at the time you go into the home, but can be reviewed by the home as long as they give notice.
Paying for short-term care services
There are charges for short-term care services and how much you pay will be subject to a financial assessment.
For the financial year 2023 to 2024, if your stay is 3 weeks or less you'll normally pay a standard rate of £172.80 per week if you're over pension age, or £96.40 per week if you're under pension age. If you're under 25 years of age the rate will be £78.80 per week.
If your stay exceeds 3 weeks, or you wish to extend your stay for over 3 weeks while in your placement, you'll need to complete a financial self-assessment. The assessment will also give you an indication of the amount you may be asked to pay as well as other advice and assistance to help you to claim any appropriate benefits.
Complete a financial self-assessment
These charges apply to anyone who has capital or savings of less than £23,250. If you have more than this amount then you'll have to pay for respite or short-term care charges in full as you would be self-funding. However, you're still entitled to an assessment and assistance with choosing the most appropriate placement to meet your needs.
If you own your own home this will not be taken into account when assessing how much you'll need to contribute towards the cost of the respite stay.
Self funders
You may be self-funding your own care because your income and savings are too high to get help from us, or because you have arranged care in a home by yourself.
If you're living in a residential care home you'll have to pay the whole cost.
You can claim Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or receive Personal Independence Payments (Care) as long as you're responsible for the full cost of your care. This applies even if you're getting some help from adult care while you wait to sell your house.
You may be entitled to receive benefits if you are under pension age which could include Income Support, Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. You should seek advice relevant to your personal circumstances.
Pension Credit can be paid if you're pension age and your weekly income is under the levels set by government. There's no ceiling on the amount of capital you may have.
Savings credit has not been paid to new claimants of Pension Credit since April 2016, but remains payable to people who qualified for payments before that date.
Paying for care following hospital discharge
Please be aware that during the COVID-19 pandemic there is a revised charging regime following discharge from hospital. Your social worker will discuss this with you during your care needs assessment.