Worcestershire County Council provides Adult Social Care support for residents living in the county and are sharing all you need to know about getting help for yourself or a loved one and how it’s paid for.
The first step is recognising that you or someone you know may need extra support. You can then contact Worcestershire County Council who will provide information and guidance on what type of support is most suitable.
Mark Fitton, Strategic Director for People at Worcestershire County Council said: “We understand that arranging extra support at home, or looking for options where care and support is provided alongside accommodation, such as Extra Care or residential/nursing homes, can be hard to navigate. We are here to support you through the process as quickly and simply as possible. We want to ensure you have access to all the available information to support you through this journey. Do read through our short Q&A to help ease some of the worries you may be experiencing.”
Julie is a local resident who received support from Worcestershire County Council for her father. She said: “When it became apparent that my dad could no longer live alone and needed to go into residential care, I was distraught. It was down to me to make all the arrangements and I was dreading it – especially the finance side of things – I had no idea how it all worked and the weight of the responsibility was huge. I reached out to a friend of mine who recommended I contact the Care Contribution Team at Worcestershire County Council and thank goodness I did. I cannot praise them enough, they provided simple, easy to follow information in exactly the right way and made me realise the process was extremely do-able. They were with me every step of the way and made what was a very emotionally distressing time much more bearable than expected. Dad is no longer with us now, but those final years were happy ones, and I will always be grateful to the people who helped me through when I needed them.”
How can I access Adult Social Care Support?
If someone is struggling to maintain their independence, there are all sorted of options that can help, such as, assistive technology and equipment. We also provide reablement for people which is a short term service to help people improve their independence.
When needed, we can provide support to organise care in the home, often referred to as domiciliary care or home care. This support can often help people to remain in the comfort of their own home for as long as possible. You can access social care support via the Adult Social Care pages of the County Council website or by calling 01905 768053. This includes support with things like wellbeing, home visits, care in the community and residential care.
How do I know how much I need to pay?
Adult social care is not free but there is support in place to ensure care is affordable and can be provided to all who need it. If your savings are below £23,250 help from the council may be available, you can work out quickly and easily how much you may need to contribute via a free Online Contribution Calculator.
The calculator will tell you if you must contribute towards your care and provide you with an indicative cost, if a support package goes ahead the Care Contribution Team will complete a full financial assessment, they will also advise you if there are any additional benefits that you should be claiming.
What is the best way to make a payment?
Once you start to receive care you will be sent an invoice, the quickest, safest and easiest way to pay is by Direct Debit. Paying by Direct Debit gives you peace of mind that your payment will be collected on time making it easier to avoid falling behind and into debt. You can set up a Direct Debit with us today by visiting the how do I pay for Adult Social Care pages of the County Council website or calling us on 01905 768053.
Will I have to sell my home?
A lot of people naturally worry about what will happen to their home should they move into residential/nursing care. There are options available, you could look at a deferred payment agreement (DPA). A DPA is like a loan that allows you to use the value of your home to pay for care. This gives you the time and freedom to choose what you want to do with your home. The debt is cleared when you (or your estate) sell your home, or when you have other capital available. If your partner still lives in the property they can continue living there and the value of your home will not be considered when calculating how much you should pay towards your care. For more information on the deferred payment agreement, please visit the Deferred Payment for Care pages of the County Council website.
What can I do now to make things easier in the future?
There might come a time when you're no longer able to make or communicate your own decisions – this is where having a Lasting Power of Attorney can be helpful. This is a way of giving someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if you're no longer able to make them yourself. Having a Lasting Power of Attorney already set up before you lose capacity is best – so it’s never too soon to set one up. You can find out more about assigning Lasting Power of Attorney via the GOV.UK website.
For more information on accessing and paying for Adult Social Care Support, please visit the Adult Social Care pages of the County Council website.
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