It’s good to care

July is Good Care Month, an initiative started in Hertfordshire to celebrate the good care provided by paid carers every year, an issue which has been highlighted through the Covid-19 pandemic. But questions over how care is funded and how needs are assessed may cause carers real difficulties and they may need to challenge decisions made by local social services or the NHS.

With an aging population, the need for care is increasing, whether at home or in care homes. The sector has been under great strain and this has highlighted the value of the care provided.

When accepting care from an outside source, either by having a carer visit at home or by admittance into a care home, there are a number of important factors to be considered. The quality of the care provided will be uppermost, but other key issues include how the care is being funded and who should be funding it (which depends on the type of care being received, where it is being received and the value of a person’s assets).

Care will be funded either by the person who receives it, social services, the NHS or by a combination, and the rules determining this are complex. With the funds available to the NHS and social services being ever more stretched, it is important that the rules are followed to ensure that the correct party is providing the funding.

The party funding the care can change if the nature of the care needs to change. Such changes are determined by an assessment, the outcome of which can be unexpected and may result in the person receiving care having to fund more of their care than anticipated. It is important to review such assessments carefully to ensure that the rules have been correctly applied and the correct party is funding the care.

If you receive an unfavourable funding decision, do seek expert help and advice with our private client solicitors, because a review of the decision and understanding the merits of challenging it can be very important when considering the future.