Planning your care at home in Devon

Your approach and planning to see what care options are available is key to finding the right care for you.

So it’s important to plan and to involve the right people in making the right decisions.

You should involve your family, a person with lasting power of attorney, or involve a trusted person known to you, such as your solicitor or a professional person who might already be handling your financial affairs.

Friends Helping at Home work with a number of independent organisations in South Devon that can assist you with your planning, free of charge.

The need for care is something that can creep up on you.

You might already need some extra help around the home, changing light bulbs, gardening, shopping or with domestic chores before needing to arrange care.

Making these arrangements can be quite daunting, or your requirements and need for help and care can be quite sudden, for example, following a return from the hospital or a sudden illness.

It’s advisable to look at this at an early stage so that you can plan – finding the carers and support services before you actually need them can take time to get the people you like.

Some of our customers start with a few hours a week with general help and assistance, and gradually increase, as their circumstances change, for flexibility.

Traditional domiciliary care companies often provide whoever is available on the day, and service users find that they frequently get rushed visits from people that they have never met before.

A local, friendly Friends Helping at Home branch manager will be there for you, should you wish, to help at your “planning stage”.

There is never any pressure or obligation on your part.

You need to know what your entitlements are and we recommend that you have objective and independent advice so that you know that you are getting the best value based on your requirements.

As part of our service, we introduce vetted and insured carers and support workers for you to meet before you book – providing you with safety, value-for-money and choice.

Typically, we save our customers 20-25% compared with a local domiciliary homecare company that doesn’t tend to provide continuity of service or unrushed visits.

Funding is most challenging for anyone who needs help to remain living in the comfort of their own home.

There are three ways that care is funded:

1. By the local authority

Your local authority will make an assessment based on personal circumstances – your needs and finances which will determine what you might receive or have to contribute.

Most practitioners will tell you that what the “state” says you are entitled to and need are very different from what you would like!

The local authority will carry out a needs assessment to determine what your entitlements might be and you will be given a “personal budget” for your social care.

You will probably need to look at ways of topping up.

There is also an Attendance Allowance and plenty of form filling.

Our local branch manager will be pleased to assist with these aspects of form filling and will be able to introduce you to local organisations who will help you with any paperwork or form filling, free of charge.

2. Self-funding

That’s you and/or your family paying for care and support.

Lifetime mortgages or “equity release” is potentially an efficient means of funding what, after all, is the “unknown”, how much and for how long.

There are lots of providers in the market and ways – some more expensive than others and we have produced some information on funding for social care at home.

We do not make recommendations neither do we receive any fees from referrals.

We do recommend seeking independent advice to obtain what’s best for you.

Some schemes provide you with a “facility” up to 50% of the value of your home (you might not need to use all the money that the “facility” provides) with a single arrangement fee, and a fixed rate of interest is payable only on the sums drawn down from the “facility”, this is paid back – capital and interest from your estate, so you’re not necessarily having to give up all the equity in the family home.

You might have a private income from a share portfolio, company pension or similar that can be used.

3 The National Health Service

In some cases, the NHS will provide funding.

This will depend on your medical background and related requirements and also may require additional funding on your part.

We want you to be able to get the best value-for-money, safe way to arrange home care, that puts you in control, by providing you with your choice of carers and helpers that are known to you.

Contact us today to find out more about our at-home care services in Devon and beyond.