Geoffrey’s story

When Geoffrey Matthews’ 94-year-old mother from Flixton went into a care home, he didn’t think twice about whether he had to pay the fees, but as he explains, his mother’s deteriorating health meant she qualified for the little known NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding.

This funding would have paid the full cost of the care home fees, but his NHS Trust, local authority and the care home didn’t mention this option to him and his brother and sister.

Instead they were forced to use his mother’s savings and enter into an agreement with their local authority that meant when his mother passed away, it would claim some of the money from her house sale to pay for care home fees that were accrued during her stay. In all, the money owed would total more than £31,000.

Now, five years after his mother died, this money has been repaid. Mr Matthews takes us through the experience.

He said:

“Mum was a sprightly and independent lady and was able to stay at home until she was 94-years-old, with a mixture of support from my brother, me and regular visits from care workers.

Unfortunately she was suffering from dementia and it reached a point when mum was assessed by our local authority to see if she could still live at home on her own with daily support.

The assessment ruled that mum’s dementia was too severe for her to be left at home and she needed the full time care only a care home could provide.

We were told she would have to pay the care home fees as she had more than £23,250 in assets, including her home.

We looked at her savings and our ability to help pay the fees herself, but this wouldn’t have covered the weekly cost of about £530.

Our local authority then informed us that the best option was to enter an agreement with them to hand over the deeds to her house. When she passed away the house would be sold.

The accrued care home fees would then be deducted and kept by the local authority and we would receive the rest of the money.

It was a real kick in the teeth for me, my brother and sister as my mum had wanted to leave the house to us as an inheritance. She worked hard all of her life to eventually own the house and suddenly it was being taken away from her, through no fault of her own.

In 2009, after 18 months in the care home, mum sadly passed away. Her home was then sold and we received the money, minus the care home fees.”

“We had effectively paid more than £31,000 in total, but we didn’t think about this as we had just lost mum.

“About two and a half years later we were put in touch with specialist care funding solicitors, Farley Dwek. From that moment on we actually felt someone was looking out for our interests – Farley Dwek opened our eyes to the NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.

Luckily we had kept most of mum’s records and, after reviewing the paperwork, Andrew Farley agreed to take up our case and would only be paid if we won.”

“Three years later and the NHS agreed that mum should have received financial support through its Continuing Healthcare Funding and all the money that was paid for mum’s care has now been paid back, plus interest.

It’s a massive relief for us as a family to know that mum’s lifetime of working to buy her house has been recognised and the nest egg she wanted to leave her children is still intact.

If it wasn’t for Farley Dwek we would not have had the money paid back and as a family we’ll be eternally grateful for their knowledge, experience and professionalism in guiding us through the extremely complex world of care home fees and the NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding.

I would urge people to check whether their relatives are eligible for financial support for care home fees through the NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding system and contact Farley Dwek. They will be able to offer advice on who is eligible and be with you throughout the process, making sure you keep what is rightfully yours and your family’s.

There should be much more publicity about NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding, so families don’t have to go through the extremely stressful process of finding the right care home and the money to pay the fees.

Currently the system doesn’t work for people and the emotions of putting a family member in a care home can often lead to people forgetting about whether they are eligible for financial support.

The family have never had a problem or criticism of mum’s standard of care while in the care home, just the process of being made aware of NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding.”

Andrew Farley, of Farley Dwek, said:

“Mr Matthews and his family have now been rightly compensated for being forced to pay for care home fees when they shouldn’t have done so. Theirs is just one case of the NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding not being made available; we think there are potentially tens of thousands of families who are either going through this complex system or have been through it and wrongly paid money for care.

“It is very unfair as it hits those who have worked their whole lives, spent their money wisely and put a bit aside for a rainy day or a nest egg for their children. Families are spending millions of pounds on care home fees unnecessarily. They often struggle to secure the funding because they are given short notice by their local NHS Trust (now CCG) to attend a complex funding ­assessment meeting. In many cases they are improperly assessed or even worse, not advised that funding is available at all.

“Crucial ­decisions are made that could spell the difference between paying nothing and paying £700 a week.

“Applying for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding is confusing, emotional and complex, when it should be openly available, easily explained and quickly processed.”