Paying for Care

How will i pay for my care?

There are a number of ways that you can secure the resources to meet the cost of your care. We understand that if this is the first time you have had to consider seeking help with personal care then it can be difficult and worrying to think about the cost of this care.

Below we set out a brief overview of the different methods of funding which we hope will be a valuable starting point for your consideration of this issue.

The Likely Cost of Care?

Given our commitment to "Personalisation" this means that the care plan for each service user is different and tailored to meet the specific needs, aspirations and desied outcomes for each individdual. Therefore it is not possible to give an estimate of the cost of a "typical" week of care as these vary.

Some people need quite intensive of levels of care for example and may require two community carers to help with their needs several times a day. Others will only need a single carer to provide help with meal preparation twice a day.

Accordingly we would suggest that you contact our office where our friendly staff will be delighted to listen and understand your individual needs and create a plan around that.

Your local council will also be able to usually provide helpful advice about your entitlement to publicly funded care and you may also wish to contact the Department of Works and Pension to find out if there are additional sources of funding available to you.

If you have on-going healthcare needs and fall under the responsibility of the NHS then you may be entitled to have personal care funded as part of Continuing Care which is not means tested.

Care funded by your local Council

We work with Kent County Council and Medway Council to provide care to more than 500 people across Kent who receive funding from these local authorities.

The local councils are committed to helping citizens with social care needs and we work closely with the relevant offices to ensure we provide the best service and experience for all service-users.

You should therefore contact the local council if you are considering personal care.

When the social care department of the council is made aware that someone may need personal social care they take a number of steps including

• Arranging for one of their care managers to undetake an assessment of your needs
• The manager will liaise with you and your family(and other appropriate professionals)to outline what type of care is likely to be needed and will aim to agree a plan of care with you
• The care managers will also help to determine the level of funding needed
• They will also help determine your eligibility for public funded care and how much your entitlement is likley to be based on your personal financial resources.
• The Council will be able to provide you with a list of local providers of care

Please be aware that given the pressures on the public purse and the criteria set out for entitlement to publicly funded social care only those with significant levels of need tend to qualify for local authority funded care. It is often the case that even if there is an entitlement many people will be required to contribute toward the cost of their care provision.

Funding through Direct Payments

Direct Payments, are potentially available to all people who need community care services' depending on whether they qualify/are entitled.

Direct Payments are designed to allow you more control of how your care budget is spent and allows you flexibility to select the provider you wish.

We would recommend that in order to find out more about Direct Payments you contact the care managers at your local council.

Funding through Personal budgets

The allocating of a Personal Budget to each person who is eligible is a priority within the Government's social care policy.In essence this involves an assessment of needs and then an allocation of a personal budget to the service user which is deemed sufficient to meet that person's care needs. The person can then organise how this budget is spent to meet his/her needs.

The service user can manage this budget themselves via Direct Payments or alternatively ask the adult social services department of their local coucil to do so on their behalf. It is also possible to appoint a representative to do so such as a broker or indeed a care provider.