Choosing residential accommodation and 'Third Party Top Ups'
A care home could be a residential care home or a residential care home that also provides nursing care and social work staff will have told you which will meet your care needs.
Your Right to Choose
You have the right to choose to live in any care home in England and Wales and your social worker or care co-ordinator will be able to give you a list of all of the care homes for you to choose from. You may wish to choose to live near to where you are living now or move to a different area to be closer to your family, or in a specialist home such as one run by a religious organisation. There are special arrangements if you wish to live in a care home in Scotland and you should seek advice from social work staff.There are 4 conditions which need to be met for you to have your choice of care home.
1. Suitability of Accommodation
The care home you choose must be registered to meet the needs that you have. Social work staff will tell you which care homes are suitable to meet the needs that are set out in your care plan.2. Cost
We have agreed a 'usual cost' that we are able to pay to meet your care needs and it will not usually be able to pay for your care home place if the care home charges more than this.If you wish to choose a care home that charges more than our 'usual cost' your family or someone else such as a charity must pay the difference between the care home's weekly charge and our 'usual cost'. These are called Third Party Top Ups and this is explained in the information further down the page.
If you choose a care home outside of County Durham we will pay the usual cost that has been set by the local council in that area but there may still be a third party top up required.
3. Availablilty
The care home that you choose may not have a room available and if you do not want to choose another care home it may be necessary for you to go on a waiting list until a place becomes available, or go into another care home while waiting or receive care at home while you are waiting. This is called an Interim Care arrangement until your care home of choice has a place available.Your social worker will tell you how long you are likely to wait but this will only be an estimate and not a guarantee.
If the wait is longer than 12 weeks your social worker will carry out another assessment to check that your care needs have not changed. If the temporary care home charges more than our 'usual cost' we will pay the difference. If this happens and you decide to stay in that care home you will only be able to stay there if a third party can pay the top up.
4. Terms and Conditions
The care home that you choose must have accepted our contract for providing care.We have agreed a contract with care homes in County Durham, so you can be confident that the list of care homes that you can choose from meet this condition. If you are choosing a care home outside of County Durham we will make sure that the care home has a contract with the local council in that area.
If you are in Hospital
You have all of the rights set out here if you are going to move from hospital to a care home but there are some special rules for this.Once the medical staff are sure that you can be discharged from hospital the law requires that the council must arrange your move within a very short period. If the care home that you choose does not have a place available, the hospital will not be able to allow you to stay in hospital until a place becomes available. You will have to choose a place in another care home while you are on a waiting list for your chosen care home or talk with your social worker about what alternative arrangements can be put in place.
Your Right to Choose More Expensive Accommodadtion
Care homes have the right to set a weekly fee that is more expensive than the 'usual cost' that the council has agreed. The care home may have chosen to do this for commercial business reasons or because it considers that it provides accommodation of a superior standard.You can choose to live in that care home but only if there is a third party such as your family, a friend or a charity that is prepared to pay the difference between the care homes fees and our 'usual cost'.
It is very important that you are aware of the following:
- You cannot pay the difference yourself from your income or savings as all of your income is taken into account in your financial assessment for your weekly contribution to the cost.
- Any change to your income, such as pension increases, will not change the amount of the third party top up.
- We will increase its 'usual cost' from time to time to recognise increased costs but cannot guarantee that the care home will increase its costs at the same rate.
- The third party top up will always be the difference between the care homes fees and our usual cost.
- The third party will need to sign an agreement that they are willing and able to meet the difference in cost and will continue to do so throughout your stay in the care home.
- If the third party is unable to continue to pay the difference you may have to move to another room within the care home or to another care home that charges fees that are within the 'usual cost' that we are able to pay.
- Any move to another care home will only happen after a community care and risk assessment of your needs to make sure that the other care home is right for you.
Other Information
If you or your family have any other questions about your rights to choose a care home, please talk to your social worker.The Department of Health has arranged for a voluntary organisation to produce a Care Home Guide which explains all of your rights both in choosing a care home and once you are living in a care home. This can be obtained free from:
Counsel and Care
Twyman House
16 Bonny Street
London
NW1 9PG
Tel: 0845 3007585
Or through their website Counsel and Care.
You can also find out about paying for the care homes.
