It’s only natural that you have questions

Some lifetime health insurance policies can provide financial support towards the cost of home care, however, this varies according to the specific policy and the provider.

If it is important to you that your health insurance policy makes provision for your later care needs, it may be worth contacting your insurance provider to confirm in what circumstances your policy would pay out, should you need it to.

Non-medical home care is a package of support for those who need a little extra help to remain safe and independent in their own home, regardless of any medical conditions which they may or may not live with. Examples of non-medical home care include support for vulnerable adults, companionship for the elderly, household help for families with children or relief for family carers.

All Somerset Care home care services are open to anyone who needs them, regardless of age or medical conditions.

Hospice home care is specialist care for those nearing the end of their life, and wishing to remain in their own home.

All of the care we provide is person-centred and tailored to your individual needs and wishes. We know that time spent with loved ones in familiar surroundings is precious, and our home care teams are dedicated to providing high-quality, reliable, consistent, and compassionate end-of-life care.

Regardless of how your care will be funded, you will need a care assessment to apply for home care.

The purpose of the assessment is to understand your individual care and support needs, as well as get to know you as a person. This enables your home care team to understand what is important to you, and what you are hoping that your care package will enable you to achieve.

Your care assessment will provide the blueprint for the home care services you need, ensure that your chosen home care provider can meet your needs, and is the first step to arranging a care package that will enable you to thrive in your own home.

The way you access home care packages may depend upon who will pay for the care and support you need.

If you are a self-funder and are covering the full cost of your home care, you have complete freedom to choose the home care provider and home care package which suits you. It can be overwhelming to try and narrow down the range of apparently similar home care services on offer, but thankfully there are several independent resources which you can turn to for an unbiased perspective on the care on offer.

For the assurance that your chosen home care provider has been assessed as delivering safe and high-quality care, look to industry regulators the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC regularly and routinely assesses all regulated home care providers to ensure that they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, rating them as Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate, and publish their results online.

For independently verified reviews from home care customers and their families, it is worth checking out homecare.co.uk. All CQC-registered home care providers are listed on the site, with customers rating aspects of the home care they receive, and sharing their feedback. Home Care reviews can be a good source of information about the customer experience from both the care recipient’s perspective and that of their loved ones.

Your Local Authority will also have a number of paper and online resources to support your search for local home care providers who can meet your individual care and support needs. If your home care is partly or entirely funded by your Local Authority, the Adult Social Care team will discuss their recommendations with you and those involved in making decisions about your care.

Whilst there isn’t a ‘home care grant’ as such, there are several specific funding schemes which you can apply to for financial support with your home care, subject to eligibility. These schemes are not means-tested and could help to offset the cost of your home care if you do not qualify for Local Authority funding, there. These include:

• Attendance Allowance – For those over state pension age living with an illness or disability, who need extra help to live at home.
• Personal Independence Payment – Support for eligible individuals under state pension age who live with a long-term illness or disability.
• NHS Fast-Track CHC scheme – For those whose health is declining rapidly, and need immediate support with end-of-life care, to enable them to remain in their own home.

When searching for care at home which meets your needs, it is first helpful to understand how home care packages are funded.

There are three main routes through which home care services can be funded:

• Self-funded – This is where you are responsible for covering the full cost of your home care.
• Local Authority funded – Depending upon your financial circumstances, your Local Authority may make a contribution towards, or cover, the cost of the home care services you receive.
• Specific funding schemes – Funding to support specific care requirements which meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria.

To find out if you are eligible for financial support towards the cost of your home care, it is best to start by speaking with the Adult Social Care Team at your Local Authority. They will compare your financial circumstances against criteria set by the Government, and advise whether you qualify for full or part funding for your home care.

Whilst the funding criteria is subject to change, you will generally be considered eligible for some financial support from your Local Authority if you have less than £23,250 in savings and assets. The lower the value of your financial savings and assets, the more support you will be entitled to receive.

If your Local Authority is providing financial support for your home care, they will either source your care package for you, or provide you with direct payments from which you can fund your own care. If you are in receipt of direct payments, you will need to evidence how and where this money has been spent, and how this has supported care requirements.

NHS Funded Nursing Care is paid at one consistent rate across England, regardless of the individual’s geographical location or specific nursing care needs. This amount is set by the NHS and subject to change, but currently stands at £209.19 per week. This funding is paid directly to the nursing care home, and deducted from your total nursing care fees.

Please check the NHS website for the current FNC rate.

An assessment is used to determine who is eligible for NHS Funded Nursing Care. This is usually carried out by a registered nurse and carried out by the relevant Local Authority or NHS Integrated Care Board (the new name for a Clinical Commissioning Group).

In general terms, nursing home residents who have been assessed as needing support from a registered nurse, but who do not qualify for the CHC (Continuing Healthcare) scheme, may be eligible for NHS Funded Nursing Care.

Often referred to by the abbreviation FNC, Funded Nursing Care is funding provided by the NHS towards the cost of nursing care provided within nursing homes, by registered nurses, for eligible individuals.

To find out if you qualify for financial support from your Local Authority, your local adult social care team will complete a financial assessment to consider the value of your income and assets. This figure takes into account any income, savings and property you hold solely in your own name, as well as an equally divided share of any assets you may hold jointly.

The value of your assets will place you into one of three bands, and determine the level of financial support you can expect from your Local Authority:

• If your assets exceed the ‘upper capital limit’ set by the government (currently £23,250), you will be deemed a ‘self-funder’ and required to meet the full cost of your care.
• If your capital is between £14,250 and the upper capital limit of £23,250, then you will be expected to contribute a certain amount towards the cost of your care, with the remainder covered by your Local Authority.
• If your assets are less than £14,250, you may still be required to contribute towards the cost of your care, but the majority of your care fees will be covered by your Local Authority.

Please visit the government website to check the current upper capital limit amount.

Depending upon your individual circumstances and care needs, you may be eligible for financial support towards the cost of your respite care.

Respite care may be fully or partly funded by your Local Authority if you meet specific criteria in terms of your finances, or medical needs. Some Local Authorities will provide eligible individuals with a respite ‘allowance’ of a set number of days of respite care per year or will pay up to a certain value of respite care fees, which you might be asked to top up.

To find out if you qualify for respite care funding, the best place to start is by contacting the Adult Social Care team at your Local Authority, who will be able to advise if you are eligible.

If you are looking to get the maximum value from your respite stay, we also run seasonal respite care offers for selected Somerset Care residential homes throughout the year, so it’s always speaking with our enquiries team to check if there are any offers running when you book.

We always recommend that you make contact with your local Adult Social Care department in your local authority who will be able to organise a care needs and financial assessment, to determine if you are entitled to any support.

As a general rule, if you have over £23,250 in savings or assets, you are classed as self-funding.  If you have below this amount, you may be entitled to some support or fully funded care.

We recommend you contact the adult social care team regardless as there are a number of benefits that you may be entitled too, which can support you funding your care needs.

Your Local Authority (LA) can assess your financial status and advise if you are entitled to financial support to cover some or all of your care home costs. Please note that LA funding may need to be supplemented (either by yourself or a third party, as appropriate) to meet your full accommodation and care costs.

If you have been diagnosed with certain long-term complex health needs, you may qualify for NHS funding towards your care costs via the Continuing Healthcare (CHC) scheme. Your GP or other medical professional will be able to advise if you may be eligble. Our nursing homes are able to accept CHC funded clients.

The NHS pay a contribution to care homes that provide nursing care, called Funded Nursing Care (FNC). If applicable, the FNC contribution can cover part of your weekly care home fees. If FNC arrangements are not in place at the time of your admission, you will be charged the full weekly fee until this is in place. Once the backdated FNC has been received, the equivalent refund will be credited to your account.

Yes, we love to have visitors in our home, and we love to see you spending time with your family and friends. Your visitors can come along when they wish, and do not need to book an appointment.

We are pleased to say that our homes all have safe visiting pods, should there be any incidents of Covid-19 or other virus outbreak in the home. These visiting pods allow your friends and family to spend time with you, in a safe way.

We would love for you to bring your own furniture and creature comforts, to make your new home feel as comfortable and familiar as possible. Our rooms are decorated to a high standard but our in-house maintenance team are also on hand to support with any reasonable requests that you have.