POLICY GUIDANCE

Contents

• Context
• Policy Statement
• Applying this Statement
• Who are Self Funders
• Practice Guidance
• Complaints

Context

This Guidance applies where an individual is moving to residential accommodation and has both the capacity (that is mental ability) and financial resources to arrange to pay for this care.

This policy requires people to fund residential care direct with the service provider without social services involvement where they have sufficient funds and capacity to do so.

The national FACS policy provides the following guidance:

If an individual is to move to residential accommodation, and has both the capacity and financial resources to arrange and pay for this care, the council should, if requested, provide information and advice to help him / her find an appropriate care home. However, generally, in these circumstances any contract for the residential accommodation will be between the individual and the service provider.

This national policy statement changes Devon Social Services current practice whereby individuals who have capacity and resources, and who are assessed as being eligible for residential accommodation, are able to choose which of the following two options they prefer to follow:-

• to arrange the contract and pay for the care themselves direct to the service provider ; or
• to request that Social services arrange the contract and pay the service provider on their behalf.  The service user then pays social services for the full cost of the care they receive from their own resources.

Policy Statement

Where service users have sufficient resources to be self funding Devon Social Services will no longer offer to arrange a placement or a contract for residential/nursing care except where the individual is unable to do this for themselves and has no-one able to do it for them.

Self funding individuals should be assisted to determine that residential/nursing home care is the right solution, and provided with information about suitable homes. Those with limited capacity can be helped as far as is necessary in their individual case, stopping where they are able to take matters forward themselves, e.g. the help may stop short of determining the price with the home as well as finalising the contract.

Self funders are ordinarily deemed to be those with sufficient funds to pay for their own care for its likely duration or for a period of up to two years.  However, people in these categories with funds and capacity may refuse the Local Authority contract and still be helped within the terms of this policy.

Applying this policy

This policy does not apply in the following circumstances:

• Respite care, short breaks or intermediate care or rehabilitation services
• The agreed NHS-funded element of an individuals care needs. ( Ref Funded Nursing Care Policy and Guidance and the Devon Social Services Financial Circular Number 5 / 2002).  
• During the 12 weeks property disregard period. (Ref. Devon Social Services Financial Circular Number 5 / 2002).  
• Where there is a deferred payment agreement.
• Where the care package is fully funded by the NHS

Who are Self Funders

Self funders are defined in the Devon Social Services Financial Circular Number 5 / 2002 as follows:

Existing or new residents (at or before 1.10.01) who pay the full cost of the home from their own resources with or without local authority involvement but  excluding people with preserved rights.

People who have a property to be sold, after the end of the 12 week disregard period, including those who enter into a deferred payment agreement Payment (Ref. Devon Social Services Financial Circular Number 5 / 2002)

People placed by a local authority before or after 1.10. 01 who are assessed as needing nursing care but whose contribution would exceed the cost of the placement once the nursing care element is taken out of the combined fee at the relevant banding level of low, moderate or high.

Practice Guidance

Where an individual is self funding and has capacity the following applies:

The Community Care assessment should inform individuals about the type and range of services available to meet their needs.

Where an individual is considering a care home placement, practitioners should give information on what standards to expect including details of the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

Individuals may chose to place themselves in a care home without a community care assessment. They should be advised that, if they require funding from the local authority in the future, the Council will need to undertake an assessment of their needs before deciding how to proceed.

This guidance is not generally expected to be applied retrospectively, i.e. existing arrangements for individual cases, where Social services has arranged the contract and pays the service provider on behalf of a self funder, can continue.

Complaints

The practitioner must record any differences of view and the service user / representative must always be informed of their right to make a complaint using the Social Services Complaints procedure if they remain unhappy with the decision.