Finding care & Funding
First, you’ll need to make a crucial decision: opt for care and support from your local authority or choose a private care provider and cover the costs yourself. In Scotland, personal care for those over 65 is free and not financially means-tested. However, some may find the flexibility and additional support or companionship offered by a private care company more appealing, even if it means paying a little extra.
If you choose a private care company, your local authority might still cover some required care services. This means that even if you’re self-funding your care, you won’t be responsible for the entire cost and still receive financial support from the local authority.
The amount the local authority contributes to your care depends on your care needs assessment and the level of support you require. You can then choose whether to receive direct local council payments and top-up payments.
Paying for care?
Care costs can vary considerably depending on which company you approach, with care providers charging between £28 and £40 per hour.
If you choose to cover your care costs, you have the option of direct payments from the local council and then topping up the remainder. This arrangement empowers you with the flexibility and independence to shape your care package and schedule your care visits according to your needs, instilling a sense of control and reassurance.
While the initial cost of home care may seem daunting, it’s important to remember that it can be significantly more affordable than residential care. Moreover, residential care costs are means-tested, making home care a potentially more economical choice depending on your financial situation. This understanding can provide a sense of relief and economic security.
See – Paying for Homecare – The Costs of Home Help Care in Edinburgh
How to choose a care company?
Regardless of your choice, it’s crucial to consult the Care Inspectorate, an independent body that regulates and inspects care services in Scotland. Their published inspection reports offer detailed insights into the quality of care provided by different companies, serving as a reliable source of information for your decision-making process.
Other organisations, such as homecare.co.uk, allow you to read verified reviews of the domiciliary care companies within your local authority. The City of Edinburgh Council can also provide you with a list of providers they work with.
Care fees vary from company to company, but at 1st Focus Homecare, we are committed to providing the best care possible at a competitive price, giving you peace of mind about the quality of care you or your loved one will receive.
How to access state funding for your care costs?
If you’ve chosen a private home care provider and self-fund your care, you’re still eligible for a personal care and support budget. This budget can be used towards your overall care cost. To access this budget, you must apply through your local council’s social work department, which will assess your needs and determine your eligible financial support.
1st Focus Homecare can advise on accessing financial support from your local council and assist with social services direct payments.
What is a care needs assessment?
The purpose of this assessment is to determine your care needs and assess your eligibility for a personal care budget to help pay for your care fees. This is a crucial step in the process of accessing financial support for your care costs.
This assessment is carried out by a member of the social work department from your local council, who is responsible for assessing your care needs and determining your eligibility for financial support. You can organise this assessment by contacting your local council’s social work department, which is usually done through Social Care Direct.
When the social work department conducts a care needs assessment to determine whether a person is eligible for local authority funding, you must remember that they only assess for a personal care budget that covers the minimal requirements of your care needs. They will not fund other services such as home help or companionship.
During the assessment, they will discuss what support you need if your safety and independence are at high risk. For example, you may need help with essential personal care tasks like bathing and dressing. Where the risk is lower, they may not provide financial support but will give you information and advice.
This will be the case if you are having difficulties but can manage most aspects of daily living. They will need to meet with you to discuss your needs and will arrange to meet with you in your own home.
Care fees vary from company to company, but at 1st Focus Homecare, you receive the best care possible at a competitive price.
Your assessment
Your assessment meeting will be with someone from a local or specialist social work team. This may be a social worker, an occupational therapist or a community care assistant. You can ask a friend or family member to be present. The assessor will:
- Talk to you about your needs for support
- Write down what is discussed
- Give you a copy of the completed assessment form
- The worker will record your views if you do not agree with what is written down
- You will get a copy of the report
- They may need to make more than one visit
- They may also seek permission to contact your GP or district nurse
This will give them a better picture of your needs. After the meeting, they will:
- Consider all the information and decide what they can offer
- Let you know their decision
- Discuss your options with you
- They use agreed criteria to make their decision
When they assess your needs, they look at your circumstances. Then, they use eligibility criteria to decide if you have priority needs. They usually look at:
- Personal safety
- Personal care and domestic tasks
- Family and social responsibilities
- Carer needs
What are self-direct payments?
Below is a brief description of how the free aspect of your care budget is delivered. The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 was enacted in April 2014. This allows individuals, their carers and their families to make informed choices on what their support looks like and how it is delivered, making it possible to meet agreed personal outcomes. ‘Having more choice and control is empowering. We should all be equal partners in making decisions that affect us. This leads to more of us being confident and independent and achieving our aspirations for a happier, healthier and more fulfilled life. Support and care are vital in ensuring everyone can enjoy the same human rights – dignity, equal opportunity and access. And, having greater control of your life and decision-making leads to improved health and well-being’ The Act requires local authorities to offer people four choices:
Option 1:
You ask the local authority to provide you with a direct payment, also known as a personal budget, which you can use to pay for support from a company of your choice.
Option 2:
Your funding is allocated to a provider of your choice, also known as an Individual Service Fund (ISF). You ask the care provider to manage the budget, although you oversee how you spend it. (1st Focus Homecare can organise this on your behalf through the local authority.)
Option 3:
The council can arrange a service for you. The council will manage the budget and choose the provider. This does not mean you automatically get council carers. Local authorities’ sub-contract to private companies, and in the case of option 3, you are allocated the company and do not have an involvement in the choice.
Option 4:
You ask the local authority for a mix of these options for different types of support.
What’s Next?
Arranging home care can be daunting. If you would like a real alternative to residential care and think that having a paid carer in your own home would be beneficial, or if you are just looking for advice on arranging home care, please feel free to contact our office at 0131 510 7878, where we can discuss your care needs.
If we can help you or your loved one, we can arrange to meet you in person at your home to assess your care needs. We can arrange homecare for you or a family member and advise you on accessing the local authority’s financial assessment and direct payments. Not everyone can afford to pay for their care. Still, the local council can provide direct payments, allowing people to organise their budget to choose from the various home care providers in the Edinburgh area.
Once we have assessed your care needs, we can build your care plan to deliver care and support to the highest standards everyone should have access to.