Homecare funded by social services
How homecare is funded varies from council to council. For funding via social services, a financial assessment is usually carried out, which considers factors such as your wages, salary, pension, savings, home ownership status and other assets and aspects of your life.
Each social services will have a different income and threshold for what contributions someone may have to make towards their care.
People often begin homecare after being discharged from hospital. When this happens, there is often a short-term window where this care is automatically paid for by the council. This varies from county to county. For example, a person discharged from hospital in one city may be eligible for six weeks of free care. In another region, this could up to four weeks. It all depends on your location in England. [OG1]
Longer term care, beyond an initial discharge from hospital, has to be paid for. The council may be able to pay for your care directly to the care provider, or you may be asked to contribute to some of the costs. This depends on your financial status. If you want the council to help with homecare costs, start by asking them for a care needs assessment.
Paying for homecare via private funding
The simplest option – paying privately – means you pay for the care directly yourself.
If you are going down the private route, it’s important to ensure that any care accessed is licensed and accredited. You can do this by checking their name on the government’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) website. The CQC regulates homecare and ensures providers are registered, qualified and safe.
To make sure that both sides are protected, a standard terms contract should be made with the service user.
You can also ask questions and ask for evidence to ensure the care provider is legitimate. For example, does the provider have all the necessary insurance? Do they carry out DBS and/or criminal record checks? When hiring individuals, are they personally insured and do they have the necessary documents to work? Do they have experience and training? Do they have references that can be checked?
It’s understandable that you might feel worried or uncomfortable about disclosing your financial information.
Funding for care is a complex subject, and we understand it often creates a lot of questions and it can sometimes cause a lot of anxiety for people. We advise contacting adult social services as the first point of contact for individuals seeking care. You can make a referral for yourself or for others online or via telephone.
These are the places to go to get accurate, up to date information and support: your county’s adult social services department and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau can offer advice and answer questions you may have. Nationwide, AgeUK’s advice line can also provide advice and support 8AM-7PM, 365 days of the year on 0800 678 1602.
Here at Ethica, we’re experienced providers of homecare across the county of Hertfordshire. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have – contact us by phone on 01442 501162, or by email at herts.team@ethicacare.co.uk. We’re open Monday-Friday 9AM-5.30PM and Saturday-Sunday 8AM-6PM.
For queries outside of Hertfordshire, you can contact our London office on 0207 1128186 or via email at team@ethicacare.co.uk.
[OG1]I’ve said ‘England’ rather than ‘UK’ as I’m not sure if the system is different in Scotland/Wales/NI…
