Should We Be Responsible for Paying for Care Homes for Our Family Members??
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With the majority of OAP'S these days, have basically been employed all of their working life, have to spend their hard earned savings on Care Homes ?? Don't you think that the Government be responsible for the cost and care of them ??
No, we should not most of them have worked hard and saved all of their lives, so why should the greedy take it of them
Jackscot so true, it's disgusting that they have worked all their lives and they get treated like muck.....
The country is basically bankrupt so we will see a huge reduction in care standards over the coming years and will be faced with the choice of letting them rot in such homes, paying for them so they can be in better homes or looking after them in our own homes. The same situation as other poor countries.
BonzoBanana I would rethink this, there are standards set by CIW and SCW that all care providers have to meet and they are all inspected and held to the same standard, private or not. While private care homes may have more money to spend on the buildings looking nicer etc, the care shouldn’t differ. I also know people that work in private and non private care homes and they are both paid about the same and have the same issues within their workplaces, in fact I’ve heard worse things in the private care homes.
lornaae My point is many councils are going bankrupt and have a funding crisis, many will have to put up council tax hugely in the coming years and that will be just to service debt. There are always variable levels of service from care providers but my point is councils will be looking to pay less and less over the years so conditions will worsen. There is nothing complicated about our situation, we sent huge sums abroad and have a huge trading deficit and filled the financial void with borrowing but we are now at the point where such borrowing is unsustainable and we are struggling to pay for that level of debt. It was always utter madness to run our economy like this and we have been doing so for 40 years or more. People need to be realistic about what can be achieved in care with a lot less money. Almost all household incomes will be reducing in the coming years so expecting such households to spend more on caring for their relatives is going to be extremely difficult to say the least.
No we shouldn't, not when they worked all their lives, my wife's grandmother went into a home and they took most of her savings!!!
martinlufc5637 this is so unfair and especially if they have no family most get put in the most horrible homes....where u live they have shut down 7 care homes in 10yrs, and then built new houses but what good are these for the elderly people??
Bonnylass3 problem they had was actually finding somewhere they could afford, prices for some homes were ridiculous, all her life savings went on a sub standard care home
No think government should be I know full well I'll end up looking after my dad just because I wouldn't want him in a care home
Kinda feel the need to stand up for care homes abit on this thread, yes there are a few bad apples as with everything in life, but the majority of care homes care, yes the private ones make money, it is a business after all, just like any other, most care homes have both private and local authority residents, the rate each local authority pays per funded resident per week varies drastically depending on the council in our area, but nearly all of them do not pay anywhere near enough to cover the costs, for example my local area pays around £200 less per week than what it costs us to look after each resident, therefore you end up in the situation where the privately paying residents rates constantly going up to subsidise the local authorities short falls, its nothing new, been going on for 30years, it's just that the gap gets bigger, for example 30 years ago, in my area the private paying residents paid maybe £50 more than the funded ones, the difference is now hundreds, the government has under funded social care for decades and this is the result,
slightfoot thanks for your comment, it's opened my eyes to the facts, and at the end of the day its all about making money!!
It's such a shame that care homes in general are seen as these awfull places, I look after lots of residents who say if it wasn't for coming into a care home they would probably be dead,as they struggled at home by themselves, not just with everyday tasks but also the loneliness and isolation, lack of purpose, they come into our home and find that they are loved,valued, respected, they still have a lot to offer the world, a whole lifetimes worth of experience and life lessons, it can give them a whole new lease of life, please I urge anyone that has only ever seen the panarama type programmes on care homes, to go and spend some time them yourselves, then you will have a true perspective, don't get me wrong i know there are some awfull homes out there but there are also lots of wonderfull ones too ***
Its tricky because relationships are so complicated and complex. Some may not have the relationships with family. What about those that aren't in contact with parents/children. I get where you're coming from but relationships are so hard. I'm in the start if life as I work with kids and see how messed up family life is and how hard it is at this stage for some
My father has worked all his life and has never claimed anything from the benefits system..he is now 85 years of age..he is now struggling to live independently and asked for family to help look into a care home..£1000 a week is what they are asking..need I say more..
Kitty10 get in touch with Ur local council ask for him to be assigned a social worker, they will do a needs assessment and financial assessment, they will then give u a list of homes to look at, if your dad is assessed as needing care, but does not have the money, then they will fund him, if Ur dad needs the care and has money/ savings/ property then he wud have to pay for himself untill his money reaches what they call "threshold", then they will fund him, the only difference between paying privately and being funded is the choice of home, some homes don't except funded residents as the council's just don't pay enough. Or they will but then the person/family would have to pay the difference, thats what they call top-up. Or they may offer him a home help package, depending on his needs xxxx
The government intended there would be a cap of £85,000 self funding care costs a while ago but we have had the pandemic so I expect it’s on hold.
Pjran I personally don't believe much at the moment what the government say.....they're taking so long to fill there promises
Bonnylass3 there are far more demands on the coffers during the pandemic and high inflation plus they’re paying OAPs the triple lock deal.
Pjran wow that's another thing I didn't know, sorry for sounding thick but what is the " triple lock deal"?? Thanks
Bonnylass3 it means pensions increase above inflation.
the triple lock guarantees that the basic state pension will rise by a minimum of either 2.5%, the rate of inflation or average earnings growth, whichever is largest.
Pjran thanks for replying, didn't realise that's what was happening........ the country is getting worse!!
Bonnylass3 it’s spending more so maybe it’s time to raise taxes but doubt the government will do that as they need votes.
Well I’m not sure either way but with this countries current financial difficulties I don’t think it’s feasible. Doesn’t seem a very good deal though does it, work and pay taxes all your life to then have to pay for your care in old age plus your kids get hit by inheritance tax for anything (above a certain amount) that you do leave behind
I am saving as much as l can every month as l can only afford to rent & don't have a pension so gosh knows how I'm going to be able to pay for my accommodation & living when l can no longer work. l worry about it daily & have no family.... Wouldn't even know how to approach the government nor would l expect them to be responsible for me...
Pinkspirit wow that's so sad but also very true in a lot of people cases.....hopefully the government may have changed by the time you need them
It's absolutely disgusting that this happens. They are probably the hardest working generation and this is how the country repays them. It makes me so mad , weather people agree or not the fact is 8 million pounds is spent each day on Hotels for people that haven't given anything into this country , yet we do not look after our own. The Government needs to get a grip and start looking after our Elderly
sallylester1 without the majority of the elderly this country would not be so stable in so many things, but you're right the Government need to get their heads in gear!!!
You work and pay into state most of your life so you should get back from the state when needed ie care home. But we have a government that just doesn’t care unless you are wealthy, they love taking from you but hate given anything back.
SilverSurfer yeah totally agree with you, this government don't seem to care about the pensioners anymore which is wrong
I put my dad in rest bite as he has dementia and is bed bound we get 4 weeks a year but also have my mum to look after she's 94 and has copd and anurisum in her tummy but I spend 24 /7 looking after them I have to say the care home I put him in is top they even have fun days what all me mum and my grand kids can go to even when my dad's not in he always looks amazing when in therehe is also blind but they are fantastic with him but carnt afford to put him in all the time
jigsawx3x that's so nice to hear positive things about care homes as folks are so quick to put negative comments
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