5 biggest myths about care fees

Published 01/01/1970

Please note: This article was published prior to July 2022, and some information may be outdated.

If you find yourself having to sort out full time care for an older relative, and you’ve heard something about Continuing Healthcare funding, you may be finding it overwhelming – amount of info, where to start, what to do first

If needing care shortly, contact SW. If no SW, contact Adult Services at LA, outline situation and say need care
Make the point that you’re not there usually
Shouldn’t be paying for any healthcare or nursing care

Beware questions about money

If hospital…

If he needs longer-term full time care, however, he may or may not have to pay for this – depending on his health needs. He should certainly be assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding, which is funding that covers 100% of care fees. It’s available to people who meet certain criteria. I’ve attached a flyer here that you may find helpful.

NHS Continuing Care funding covers 100% of the costs of receiving full time care either at home or in a care home. However the assessment process is not always straightforward and many people find obstacles put in their way by the NHS and the local authority. Many people are ‘overlooked’ for funding, many assessments are carried out incorrectly and health needs are ignored, many people are not assessed at all.

Continuing Care funding does not depend on whether your father still has savings, property assets or income. It’s based purely on health needs, not money. Also, it’s not his actual diagnoses that will determine eligibility, but the health and care needs that arise from those conditions.

Many people are simply told they don’t qualify, and yet their needs will have been assessed without due regard to the guidelines.

You may find some of our blog articles useful at this point, with particular regard to Continuing Healthcare assessments and hospitals: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/category/hospitals/

Should I sign hospital discharge forms for my relative?

What to do if your relative is in hospital and needs full time care

5 things to check before your relative is discharged from hospital

NHS funding for care is possibly the NHS’s best kept secret. Almost always the first question someone will be asked is “Do you have a house?”. However, the first question should be “What are your health needs and your nursing needs?” Sadly, many people end up paying for care – and losing everything they own in the process, and yet the NHS may have a duty to pay.

You may find this article on my blog helpful in understanding how these ‘mistakes’ are often made: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/why-are-elderly-people-wrongly-charged-for-care/

There’s lots of information on our website that can also help – plus the other articles on our blog: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/tips-news-and-advice/

MCA
Once receiving FTC, or before, either at home or in care home, get assessed.

There are two stages to an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment: 1) The Checklist; 2) The full assessment (using a Decision Support Tool – DST). This page on our website explains more: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/paying-care-home-fees/how-to-get-assessed-for-continuing-care/

If you’d like me to do a Health Needs Review for your client, this page outlines what’s involved and how it works: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/shop/practical-guides/health-needs-review/

will I be eligible?

is it worth it blog (add FNC)
The links below take you to the Dept of Health docs with the Continuing Healthcare eligibility criteria:

Initial Checklist: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213138/NHS-CHC-Checklist-FINAL.pdf You’ll find the required scoring combinations in paragraph 21, pages 7-8, and the individual scoring descriptors on page 10 onwards. Getting through the Checklist doesn’t mean a person is eligible for Continuing Healthcare; it just means they can go on to have a full assessment. SW/CHC/care manager

DST (full assessment): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213139/Decision-Support-Tool-for-NHS-Continuing-Healthcare.pdf You’ll find the ideal scoring combinations in paragraph 31, pages 14-15, and the individual scoring descriptors on page 21 onwards.

This article highlights why it’s a good idea to get assessed: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/3-reasons-to-have-an-nhs-continuing-care-assessment/

You’ll also find lots of other useful information on our website: www.caretobedifferent.co.uk and on our blog: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/tips-news-and-advice/

Link to how we help

Tagged Categories: Care fees

Share this article

11 Comments

Angela July 15, 2014 at 2:41 pm

Hi Adrienne - thanks for you comment. There are three things you can do at this point: 1) If you haven't already done so, subscribe to our free information bulletin (scroll up on the right hand side) and you'll receive a link to an extra free guide that explains the basics. 2) Take a look at this article, which highlights some of the assessments you may come across: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/assessments-needed-for-long-term-care/ and 3) This article outlines the stages of the assessment process: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/what-are-the-different-stages-of-nhs-continuing-care-assessment-and-appeal/

Adrienne July 15, 2014 at 9:51 am

Hi. My Dads just been Sectioned 1st July 2014 under the Mental Health act nr 2 and he`s in Clatterbridge Hospital. Im living abroad so not easy to speak to the right People at the right time. It was all done pretty quick actually and even though I know Dad is now in the best Place, it was a big shock for it to happen like it did. He`s now under assessment but, what assessment? Will he have the NHS continuing Health Care assessment or the will it be the assessment process that takes two stages, an initial screening to estimate if he`s eligible for NHS Funding With a full assessment?

Angela March 15, 2014 at 11:13 am

Glad the book was helpful Gary - and that you succeeded in securing CHC funding. You're right that CHC funding is transferable, and moving your mum to a different area should not affect her immediate funding. When the new area does a regular review in due course, they may make their own decisions - but CHC is the same throughout - it covers 100% of care costs and you should not be asked to pay any kind of top-up. It is generally only local authorities that have a 'rate' above which top-ups may apply, but not CHC.

Gary March 3, 2014 at 9:35 pm

We have just had Mums CHC ratified by panel! (Thanks in no small way for the advice in your guidebook!).
We want to move Mum closer to us in a different County/NHS region to that where Mum was assessed, and are being told that our NHS 'rate' is £453 and that if we want any more ( to cover the home we want to place her in) Mum's case will have to be assessed by a CCG Complex case review. £453 per week will not cover the fees of our intended home.
Following the CHC assessment we were told that Mums area would pay £668. I'm confused as I thought it would be a National rate? Transferable from one area to another.
Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

Christine March 1, 2014 at 2:46 pm

Continuing health care can be done at home, so doesn't have to be in a care home. Is this true or false?
So does the same rule apply

Angela March 2, 2014 at 7:54 am

Yes, at home, in a care home - in any setting. Same rules, same funding.

Angela February 28, 2014 at 8:05 am

Thanks for your comment Debbie. If your mum needs full time care and she has health needs, then she should be assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare. She may have been charged for healthcare if this wasn’t/hasn’t been done. Ask for a Checklist assessment before she is discharged from hospital. If she is placed in a rehab unit, she shouldn’t ordinarily be charged for that. You may find this page helpful in terms of getting assessed: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/paying-care-home-fees/how-to-get-assessed-for-continuing-care/.

Debbie R February 28, 2014 at 9:44 am

Thanks Angela - she does not need full time care at present, although she is not far from needing to go into a care home.

However when she has gone into respite care those periods have required full time care. On the 1st occasion she was in respite for almost 2 months and on the 2nd occasion she was in for 1 month.

After hearing your interview on 5 Live this week and reading Marks comments that "any Primary Health care need resulting from illness,disease or accident IS the responsibility of the NHS, including social care. This is the law" I feel very strongly that we have been forced to pay for healthcare for my mother when it should have been provided free by the NHS.

mark February 27, 2014 at 10:32 pm

"Most people are led to believe that care is just ‘care’. However, there is social care and, separately, there is healthcare/nursing care. Healthcare and nursing care are free in the UK, in law. Social care is means tested."

Untrue. If there is a primary health care need (a need resulting from illness, disease or accident) then ALL care is the responsibility of the NHS. Including social care. This is the law.

Debbie R February 28, 2014 at 7:32 am

I am looking for some help around ‘short term care’. My mum is 92 yrs old and has been placed into respite care twice in the last 5 months by her social worker because she was so poorly. However, I now discover that this was done via a Social Care Assessment not a Health Care Assessment and subsequently we have had to pay almost £3,000 in fees. My mother has no savings and lives in sheltered accommodation. She is in receipt of benefits.

My mum is currently in hospital once again suffering from pneumonia and the hospital have said that they are going to transfer her to a rehabilitation unit. I have been contacted this evening by her social worker telling me that she is coming to the hospital in the morning to carry out another Social Care Assessment. I challenged this immediately with the social worker and stated that this is not a social need but is a health need. She hesitated but then told me that she absolutely agreed with me that it is indeed a health need.

Can you or anyone give me advice on whether my mother has been made to pay for healthcare because it has been wrongly assessed as social care. On the previous two occasions in respite she was unable to walk, stand or dress and the only other option would have been to put her in hospital.

Were do I stand with this?

Angela February 27, 2014 at 10:57 pm

Yes, you're right Mark. The point I was really making was that people are often told they have social care needs (means tested), when in fact they may have health needs and nursing needs (free) - so I was highlighting the distinction between these two things, as not everyone is aware of that. You're correct that all care costs are covered when someone is shown to have primarily health needs, and I've alluded to that in the middle of the article.