project – people are having care at home because it’s the overarching philosophy behind community care! The thinking is that where possible, people should be given the opportunity to live at home for as long as possible. This will often involve a number of daily visits by carers and, increasingly, the use of telecare technology. The vast majority of people would prefer to remain at home rather than enter a care home, probably due in part to reasons mentioned in this thread but also to maintain their independence etc. Yes, care at home is cheaper but where it meets people’s needs it’s better than admitting people to a care home. Only when people’s needs can not be met at home (TJ summarised the costs of equivalent care at home well) will they be assessed as requiring a nursing or residential care home.
And regarding the funding of homecare – this will differ slightly on where you live but the majority of the cost is met by the local authority. A financial assessment will clarify what the recepient should pay towards it – the local authority I work for has a maximum charge of £40 per week regardless of the number of hours of care received, or it’s cost, and regardless of the person’s savings, income or the type of house they live in. So, even if you’re absolutely minted and have a care package costing the local authority £300 per week you’d still only pay £40 a week for it. The majority of people I have worked with pay far less than the maximum charge. Charges rise incrementally up to the maximum. Additionally, in Scotland, those aged over 65 receive all their personal care free.
