Why Are Pensioners treated so badly In This Country? (Care Home)

Member Name: freeandsingle

Product:	Care Home
Date:	18/03/09 (296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Care homes are a god send for those that need help.

Disadvantages: Residents get stripped of their human rights by local authority rules.

I have decided to write this review to warn people of the financial rules made by the local authority, if and when the time ever comes for one of their parents to go into a residential or nursing home then they need to be fully aware of Nominal Capital and how it can cause problems if ever a claim was needed to get help with fees.

Both my Mother and Father in Law are in a residential care home, they are very well looked after and have no worries which is a blessing, but my husband and I have had worries beyond belief over the last year due to the Local Authorities rules and regulations.

Mum and dad owned their own house and it was their pride and joy, Dad looked after the garden and also grew vegetables on his allotment while Mum kept the house immaculate and walked her beloved dog Kim at six every morning and again at night.

My husband moved away from his home town for his work quite a few years ago but we used to visit about three times a year and they would come and see us on the train for a week's holiday. They were a very active loving couple and sticklers for paying their way in life.

At the beginning of 1995 we started to become concerned because we were beginning to notice that their house was getting a bit dirty and Mum was starting to act a bit strange but we just could not put our finger on the problem.

After a few weeks we tried to talk to Dad and suggested that maybe Mum should get a check up because we thought that she was looking a bit 'peeky,' this did not go down very well with either of them so we tactfully backed off.

We started to visit more regularly and it was becoming very apparent that Mum was getting very confused and the house was getting into a worse state. It was as if Dad was trying to protect her and didn't want any interference. He would not take her to a doctor so we went to see their doctor behind their back.

I remember that day so clearly we both felt absolutely terrible but after talking to the doctor and telling him about the situation he immediately told us that Mum was showing classic symptoms of dementia and that it was quite normal for a partner to try and cover up the situation.

The doctor visited Mum and Dad to assess the situation and immediately arranged for Mum to be put into a home temporarily to be assessed and to give dad some respite.

This was a very sad time for Dad he was absolutely devastated and travelled the nine miles every day taking two buses there and back to sit with Mum in the home.
He insisted that he could cope with her and wanted her home even though he was 84 years old at the time.

Social Services became involved and agreed that Mum could go home on the condition that they got home help and meals on wheels.
Dad was over the moon and agreed to everything, we promised to visit the following weekend and of course he should ring us if he had any problems what so ever.

After one day we received a call from the hospital Dad had collapsed and Mum was put in yet another council care home. We felt terrible and also extremely sad for both of them more so dad because he was distressed and shattered and I saw a frightened old man that just couldn't cope anymore.

We had a meeting with the Social Services at the home where Mum had been placed and it was agreed that she had gone down hill quite dramatically. The home itself was very large and she was miles from home which made it difficult for Dad to visit. We were told that we could find her a home ourselves and that she would get help from the local Authority with her fees and we did find a great place five minutes walk from their house.

A solicitor applied to the Court of Protection to assist in looking after her finances because she was no longer capable of making financial decisions for herself and my husband was appointed Her Deputy for the Court of Protection. This meant that he was responsible for collecting her pension and controlling her assets from a bank account that was set up for him.

Once a year he has to fill out a report explaining exactly what has been spent and how much is in the account. The main bill every month is the home fees and this has been running very smoothly for four years up to now.

Mum needs very little she is quite happy to just sit in a chair and eat her meals. We buy her clothes when needed and make sure that she has nice bubble bath etc and she gets her hair done once a fortnight. she does not go out at all and doesnt even know who we are.

Dad eventually started to go down hill he couldn't cope without her and the house was just too much for him, he asked if he could go into the same home as Mum and was really keen on the idea.

We managed to get him a room there and he was able to go out shopping and have his freedom.
At no stage did social services get involved with this move it was his decision and he was quite happy to be nearer Mum. He accepted that the house would have to be sold to pay his fees and we had a solicitor deal with all of this for him.

He asked the solicitor to make my husband and myself power of attorney and an Enduring power of attorney was set up so that he could have a say in his finances as well.
After the house was sold the money was split between Mum and Dad, Mums money went straight to the Court of protection and Dad got a cheque for his half which he put into the Power of Attorney account.


He had a little spend up after that, he bought a brand new bed for himself a television for his room and I took him shopping for some new clothes. He deserved it after losing his home and his wife to dementia.
He started to enjoy his shopping trips and quite often went out during the day on his own to meet up with his old friends from the allotment, it was nice to see him settling down and starting to laugh again.

His fees were 1.600 pounds a month and of course after the house sale he had to pay the full amount, Mum was helped by the local authority but once the sale went through they sent a bill for over 20.000 pounds to retrieve their money.

When an elderly person in this country goes into care they have to pay all their own fees if their assets are over 22,250 pounds and Mum and dad had money from the house so this had to be used to pay for their care.

I am not going to get into a debate on the rights and wrongs of this, that is how it is and has to be accepted I am afraid, but what happened when dads money went down to just under 22.500 pounds was quite distressing.

We applied to the local authority for help with his fees and were asked to send bank statements etc so that they could assess the claim after a month or two they sent back copies of the statements highlighting transactions and wanting explanations as to how the money was spent.

We answered all their queries 65.00 for a winter coat etc. Monies taken out in cash by Dad over the years it was a good job that we kept everything in order so that we could give an accurate breakdown.

After a year of waiting for help and 19.000 pounds being paid out in fees since the original claim Dad was left with very little and just his pension every week.

The local Authority wrote to us saying that they would not be helping with his fees for some time to come because they assessed that he had a nominal capital over the 22.500 pounds.

This means that he spent money that he was not allowed to spend. Apparently when a person goes into a home they are not allowed to spend more than 25.00 a week, it doesn't matter that it is their money the local authority state that that is the amount they need for clothes and treats etc.

We were totally shocked by this, how can it be right? a man sells his home to pay for care then gets told he is not allowed to spend it. People get more than that for unemployment benefit. What if he ran a car or enjoyed a pint occasionally 25 pounds does not go a long way at all.

Out of this he is expected to pay for hair cuts, chiropody treatments, as well as buying his clothes and toiletries. How can he afford to buy treats like a bag of toffees or a bottle of pop? A newspaper every day would make a large dent in his allowance; I am sure inmates in our prisons get fairer treatment.

We were left with the problem of finding his fees ourselves or fighting it tooth and nail. It is criminal to treat an elderly person in this way so of course we did fight.

Eventually they agreed to help with his fees because at no time did they ever give us or dad in writing the rules about only being allowed to spend 25.00 a week.

I feel totally drained after months of arguing with the authorities and I doubt if we will ever get an apology but Dad is still happily plodding along at the grand age of 88 years old totally unaware of how the system has treated him.

If you ever find yourself in the situation of finding a care home for a parent or relative be very careful and get as much information as you can about the rules and regulations on nominal capital.

I must add that in no way am I knocking the care home itself for my Dads treatment they do a marvellous job and have given us so much support in fighting this, I cannot praise them enough.

I do apologise for the length of this review but if it helps just one person to avoid this situation it will have been worth while.

Summary: Is it fair to tell a person what they can spend their money on?