Council decision not to pay for care

[buzzbee]

I am hoping someone can offer some advice, as I find myself in a situation I just don’t understand

In march of last year, my mother was admitted to hospital, unable to pass any food through her twisted stomach. It was deemed that she could not be helped and was transferred to a care home for palliative care, expected to die within around 3 weeks.

She pulled through and is still there now. She was initially funded by the NHS (CHC), but after a review, it was deemed that she was no longer in need of primary care. She became self-funding. She was told to contact the local council when her life savings dipped below £23, which they did this March

We contacted the local council to where the home was (Surrey Heath). I chased and chased and chased, but they kept saying others were ahead of her in the queue. Only when her life savings had been completely eroded did they take the case up. They then visited her and opened a case. While this happened, we received further invoices (£1.5K per week), which my mother now could not afford to pay.

Her only asset was a house, which I live in. I am disabled, so was assured this was never to be sold to fund her

Surrey Heath eventually stated that this should be dealt with by Bracknell Forest Council, as she was living in Bracknell when admitted. Bracknell have now done an investigation and in their view, she does not need nursing care, so have decided she is to move home, where they will arrange home care

As all my mums life savings were exhausted before this all started, she is left with no money and the home is now saying that we owe them £19.5K, which the council will now not help with.

The home say we need to sell the house that she is now moving back in to. They have suggested re-mortgaging, but the council are now going to take all of her monthly income, except around £200 per week that they believe an 85 should be able to live on

I have my own debts that I am paying, so cannot afford the payments myself

My question – Are the council in any way liable for the £19.5K invoices that have mounted up? We tried to start the process when my mum still had £23K, as originally advised, but they would not do anything, as long as she still had enough to pay the invoices at the time

Any advice welcome

[echat11]

I am hoping someone can offer some advice, as I find myself in a situation I just don’t understand

In march of last year, my mother was admitted to hospital, unable to pass any food through her twisted stomach. It was deemed that she could not be helped and was transferred to a care home for palliative care, expected to die within around 3 weeks.

She pulled through and is still there now. She was initially funded by the NHS (CHC), but after a review, it was deemed that she was no longer in need of primary care. She became self-funding. She was told to contact the local council when her life savings dipped below £23, which they did this March

We contacted the local council to where the home was (Surrey Heath). I chased and chased and chased, but they kept saying others were ahead of her in the queue. Only when her life savings had been completely eroded did they take the case up. They then visited her and opened a case. While this happened, we received further invoices (£1.5K per week), which my mother now could not afford to pay.

Her only asset was a house, which I live in. I am disabled, so was assured this was never to be sold to fund her

Surrey Heath eventually stated that this should be dealt with by Bracknell Forest Council, as she was living in Bracknell when admitted. Bracknell have now done an investigation and in their view, she does not need nursing care, so have decided she is to move home, where they will arrange home care

As all my mums life savings were exhausted before this all started, she is left with no money and the home is now saying that we owe them £19.5K, which the council will now not help with.

The home say we need to sell the house that she is now moving back in to. They have suggested re-mortgaging, but the council are now going to take all of her monthly income, except around £200 per week that they believe an 85 should be able to live on

I have my own debts that I am paying, so cannot afford the payments myself

My question – Are the council in any way liable for the £19.5K invoices that have mounted up? We tried to start the process when my mum still had £23K, as originally advised, but they would not do anything, as long as she still had enough to pay the invoices at the time

Any advice welcome

Go to CAB, ask them to make a complaint on your behalf, the Council will have a Complaints procedure, if you have documents as evidence, take that with you. If you don't write a summary, dates, who said what.

Send both Council's and the care home a Subject Access Request, make sure you get Proof of Postage, the information may help your case.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

[buzzbee]

Go to CAB, ask them to make a complaint on your behalf, the Council will have a Complaints procedure, if you have documents as evidence, take that with you. If you don't write a summary, dates, who said what.

Send both Council's and the care home a Subject Access Request, make sure you get Proof of Postage, the information may help your case.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

Thank you so much for the advice. I will speak with CAB.

Regarding the Subject Access Request, I presume this could only be for information about me, right? Not sure if there is anything I would get from them about this which would help???

[islandgirl]

You could help your mum make the same request?

[echat11]

You could help your mum make the same request?

Correct, you will need to provide ID, but that shouldn't be a problem, ask your mum to sign the SAR forms and provide her ID.

It might be an idea to write to your MP at some point.

Update the thread when you get some responses. You are trying to join the 'dots', where their communication has broken down with each other and you.

[islandgirl]

Also involve your local councillor - hopefully they will help

[buzzbee]

Slight update. With invoices now up to £26k, the home have issued 7 days notice if eviction

The council are looking at ways to make my home safe for her and are discussing a home care package, but we don't know how long that will take

In the mean time, we will have to bring her home next week and I will need to look at possibly leaving work to care for her

CAB, so far, I haven't been able to get an answer from. I have not been able to visit during the 4 hrs a week they now open and when I've tried calling in my lunch hour, I've yet to get an answer. I'll keep trying

[echat11]

Slight update. With invoices now up to £26k, the home have issued 7 days notice if eviction

The council are looking at ways to make my home safe for her and are discussing a home care package, but we don't know how long that will take

In the mean time, we will have to bring her home next week and I will need to look at possibly leaving work to care for her

CAB, so far, I haven't been able to get an answer from. I have not been able to visit during the 4 hrs a week they now open and when I've tried calling in my lunch hour, I've yet to get an answer. I'll keep trying

Is one of these near you?

https://lawcentres.org.uk/about-law-...w-centres-list

[PallasAthena]

So what are the home proposing to do if you don't co-operate? Put your mother in a wheelchair and push her out onto the pavement and leave here there? Make sure the local and national media are there to film it and report on their actions

[islandgirl]

Have you spoken to your councillor as suggested?

[buzzbee]

So what are the home proposing to do if you don't co-operate? Put your mother in a wheelchair and push her out onto the pavement and leave here there? Make sure the local and national media are there to film it and report on their actions

Not far off. She was to be removed from her room. She and her belongings would be moved to the reception until collected. Would they have carried that out? I don't know. We collected her and she is now a very confused lady at home, with me caring for her when not at work


The latest.

Surrey CC have paid the outstanding invoices and are now requesting payment from us of the money we would have had to pay if they had been paid at the time. They didn't pay the invoices until after she was evicted and it has come to light since that they were informed 3 weeks earlier that she would be evicted. This was not passed on to her or to us until the eviction notice was served

I visited the local CAB, who would not help, as the issue is with Surrey CC. I went to the Surrey CAB. They drafted a letter, but it was basically just a letter from me, not them and I saw no benefit to it, so I re-wrote the letter

In it, I asked for reimbursement of what my mother paid after she passed the £23,250 threshold, where the council should be expected to help. I also detailed what we would have had to pay to the council over that period of time and asked the council to reimburse her the difference.

They have responded to agree payment, but at a much lower rate. She was paying the home at £1,500 per week. They have offered £865 per week, minus what my mother would have paid them, meaning they would pay around £6K less than we believe they should, so I have responded to them, explaining that she had to pay £1,500 and asking them to recalculate

Their argument is that £865 is the rate they would have paid, if they had carried out an assessment. We would have either had to pay the remainder or she would have moved her somewhere cheaper. My counter argument is that she remained where she was because no assessment was made until she was penniless, despite several requests to do so. I believe it is their fault she was paying more than their normal rate and therefore, they should reimburse her at that rate


As an aside, once home, Bracknell Forest looked at care measures, but they would not help with medication and were simply coming in, popping some food in the microwave or making a sandwich and leaving. She asked them to stop coming. I now make sure her medication is ready in pill boxes and call her through the day to remind her. She gets ready made meals delivered and she is able to put them in the microwave. We are having a new shower fitted next week. She has had no shower since being evicted at the end of November