Funding Your Care

FUNDING OPTIONS

Many people presume that receiving a bespoke Care at Home Service is beyond their financial means; however, as more information about financing care becomes available in the public domain, Care at Home is becoming an increasingly popular option.

Funding for care can be a confusing subject area, however, by carrying out a little research and utilising resources available to you, your options become clearer and easier to understand.

Public Funding
You are eligible and have the right to request a free care assessment from your local Social Services. The local authority decides whether you are eligible to receive financial help for your care needs. Once you have been assessed and you are eligible for care and support, Social Services will provide a budget to cover the cost of meeting your needs and how much you may have to contribute.

Direct Payments
Once you have been assessed you can request your own personal budget to spend yourself on meeting your care and support needs, in line with your care plan, in the way that suits you best. The use of direct payments has increased in recent years as many people have found them a useful and more flexible way to meet their care needs. You can use direct payments to meet any of your assessed, eligible, needs except for a placement in a care home or nursing home. The statutory guidance states that a ‘direct payment is designed to be used flexibly and innovatively and there should be no unreasonable restriction placed on the use of the payment, as long as it is being used to meet eligible care and support needs.’

Rights if you lack Mental Capacity:
You can still receive direct payments if you lack mental capacity under section 33 of the Act. In this situation, payments are made to an ‘authorised person’, usually a family member, friend or and Independent Advocate. They may have power of attorney or deputyship under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.