Last week, former EastEnders actor John Partridge revealed his mum died penniless after she had to sell her home to pay for social care. It’s a story that highlights the importance of fighting for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. The NHS CHC is paid regardless of assets.
John’s mum Bridget died three weeks ago, after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She eventually moved into a £45,000-a-year care home when her condition deteriorated. The star, 45, entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2016 to help cover the spiralling care bills.
“Care is incredibly expensive, I don’t come from money,” John told ITV News.
“My mum had a two-up, two-down in Manchester which we sold for £75,000 and that was in 2010, so then what do you do?”
People living with dementia can lose the entire proceeds from their property in little more than five years.
Many people believe they must sell their home to meet the costs of residential care.
According to figures from the insurer Royal London, the average length of stay in a care home is two and a half years. This will use up almost 43% of the value of the average North West home. Those, like Bridget, needing a higher level or a longer period of care will quickly use up all their assets.
John’s story illustrates how important it is to ensure people are getting the care funding assistance they are entitled to. Many people think they need to pay for all of their care if they have assets. But this is not necessarily the case. There are many people funding their own care who should be receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding.
Many people don’t realise they may be eligible for care funding that isn’t even means-tested.
People who need care due to a primary health need, often because of a complex illness like dementia or a disability, should receive NHS CHC regardless of how many assets or savings they have. There is no means test for this. The problem is many people are not aware of it, or wrongly believe they are not eligible for it.
It would appear that some NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups are failing to follow national guidelines and case law when assessing people with dementia for NHS CHC. The result is that many are denied this much needed funding.
People work all their lives to pay off their mortgage so they have something to leave behind. Then they lose it all in care fees in a few short years. In many cases, the NHS should be paying these fees from the start.
This is one of the main reasons I set up Just Caring Legal. We give vulnerable individuals and their families a voice in fighting for NHS Continuing Healthcare. We deal on their behalf with NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups who decide on complex care funding issues.
So if you, like John Partridge, fear running out of money to pay care fees, contact Just Caring Legal on 0191 5 561 078 for advice or visit the website at www.justcaringlegal.co.uk.