Abbreviations and Glossary used in Community Care Law

It’s a sum of money that is given when you are too ill to enjoy it and it’s then taken away when the Local Authority starts paying for residential care! If you are over 65 years old and have a long-term illness or disability, such as dementia or a stroke, you should eventually be given it. (We say ‘eventually’ because you’ll typically be left either hanging on the phone for hours, or filling in forms until your pen runs out of ink!)

On the plus side, it doesn’t matter how much you earn or how much you have in savings. The current rate is £57.30 a week if you need help either in the day or at night, or £85.60 a week if you need help both during the day and at night.

Tasks such as dressing, feeding or washing yourself are called an Activity of Daily Living (ADLs). There 12 of these ADLs and a person needs to be unable to achieve two or more so called ‘outcomes’ to receive support from social services.

Getting a social worker to come out to undertake an assessment is not so easy. Getting the social worker to agree the number of ADLS that cannot be achieved is sometimes a fight. That’s why it is so important to get all the ADLs properly recorded.

An informal group of MPs and Peers from all political parties that focus on particular issues in Parliament.

There are the individual’s needs that they may or may not require an amount of care and support with, in order to live their day to day life.

A wide range of these needs are considered including the person’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing – for instance, a need for help with getting dressed or support to get to work.

Assessed Needs also includethe outcomes that matter to the person, for example, whether they are lonely and want to meet a new circle of friends. One very important Assessed Need is “other circumstances” – for example, whether they live alone or whether someone supports them.

In other words, the work that the specialist solicitors at Steene Law do.

ASCs give legal care and support to adults who need extra help to manage their lives and be ‘care independent’ – especially older and vulnerable people and those that care for them.

A legal term from the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that states that any act done, or decision made on behalf of an adult lacking capacity must be in their best interests.

If instructed, it is Steene Law’s task to ensure organisations/people act on a ‘best interests’ basis. If a person is unable to make a particular decision for him or her-self (for example, about health or finances), a “best interests” decision has to be made.

The law does not define what “best interests” might be, but the Mental Capacity Act Code of Conduct (MCACOP) sets out a list of things that must be considered when deciding what is best for a person who lack mental capacity. These include the wishes, feelings and beliefs, the views of the close family and friends on what a person would want, and all their personal circumstances.

Making the correct Best Interest decision is hard, and if you are told a Best Interests decision has been made, and you disagree with it, call us FREE to discuss.

Anyone who lack mental capacity has to have decisions made about them on a BI basis at a BIM.

This act came into effect in October 2015 and is the most important reform of care and support law in more than 60 years, attempting to put people (so called ‘service users’) and their carers in control of their care and support. It’s a worthy ambition, however, it’s not supported by sufficient funds from central government.

The Care Act also proposed to set a limit on the costs of care, but as at February 2019 that so-called Care Fees Cap (of £72,000) has been postponed indefinitely.

There are 12 sections of a DST that have to be completed.They are Breathing, Nutrition (food and drink), Continence, Skin and Tissue Viability, Mobility, Communication, Psychological and Emotional Needs, Cognition, Behaviour, Medication/drug/therapies, Altered State of Consciousness, and one called “Other Significant Care Needs”.

Each section has a different score, from ‘low’ to ‘priority’. If you want to know more, call us at Steene Law and we can tell you all about how CCGs, in our humble opinion, do not always score these domains correctly.

A detailed (and sometimes repetitive) document produced by a Local Authority social worker, setting out what a person’s Eligible Needs are and how social services will meet these needs.

The Care and Support Planwill saywhat services will be provided, when they will be provided, and who will provide them.

You are entitled to see a copy of your care and support plan and the Local Authority should make sure that you are happy with it before it is finalised.

Your plan should be reviewed at least once a year, or more often if necessary. Your plan should always be reviewed if your circumstances change.

At the bottom of the care and support plan there must be a sum of money, called a “personal budget”. At Steene Law we often can increase the personal budget by ensuring that all of our client’s Eligible Needs have been properly identified.

This is the law that states that if you have above £23,250, you are a Self Funder.

Any person over 18 who provides or intends to provide care or support to another adult who needs care. This includes emotional care and support as well as physical.

This is where the Council gathers information to help determine the carer’s need for care and support to help them live their day to day life and continue to provide care for the adult they are caring for. It also helps to determine whether or not they meet the eligibility criteria.

These are care and support services provided outside of a residential or nursing home setting. Typically, community-based services are either home care or day opportunities.

Your local NHS that decides eligibility for Continuing Health Care (CHC). England has 195 CCGs, all of which are meant to act in the same way, but in reality they seem to act as 195 mini NHSs, and whilst some are excellent, others are less so.

CHC is a complete package of State, (i.e. free funded) care that is paid for by the NHS if your relative has been assessed as having a ‘primary health need’.

Confused? You’re not alone – but we can help you work out if you are entitled to have your care fees paid for by the NHS.

Remember that NHS funded CHC is not means-tested. Therefore, regardless of how rich or poor you are, if you have a Primary Health Need, then all your health needs (and accommodation) must be met in full by the NHS.

You should not be asked to contribute anything, in fact it is illegal. Remember, Continuing Healthcare is a matter of health not wealth.

This is the first screening document you will see if your loved one is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding or NHS-Funded Nursing Care. Anyone at any time can ask for a CHC funding checklist to be carried out. If you are told “don’t bother—your loved one won’t qualify for funding”, that is a pre-determined outcome and we suggest the person telling you this is either not informed as to how NHS Funding works or has already made up their mind. The new CHC checklist 2018 makes subtle changes, give Steene Law a call for a FREE chat.

This is the legislation that Local Authorities and the NHS use to means-test you, by checking how much you have in savings or property.

It also defines the work undertaken by a community care law solicitor. Community Care Law is all that Steene Law practice. Call us for a FREE chat.

Whenever the Local Authority makes a placement with a care and support company (whether residential or in the community) a contract is created to ensure the provider is safe and upholds certain standards of care. These contracted providers range from home care providers (very often franchised) with hundreds of people using their services, to small residential services with just a few employees on minimum wage.

The CoP is a branch of the High Court that is based in London. The CoP’s role is to make difficult decisions for people who cannot make decisions for themselves at the time they need to be made. The CoP can deal both with property and financial matters, as well as health and welfare.

They have very wide powers and often make some of the most difficult decisions a Court is ever asked to consider. At Steene Law we deal with Court of Protection cases every day and are always happy to have a FREE conversation if you think you might need the Court’s help with a property or health matter on behalf of a person who cannot make decisions for themselves.

The independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their website provides a snapshot of inspections of care homes.

Replaced by Care Act 2014 1^st April 2015, but CRAG is useful, as key parts of CRAG are not in CSSG.

Updated October 2018. Essential bedtime reading for lawyers who practice Adult social care law.

CSUs provide CCGs and hospitals’ non front-line facilities i.e. office services. Everyone at a CSU seems to be an ‘NHS manager’ and one wonders, if these CSUs disappeared, would anyone notice?

Day opportunities, or day centres, these day centres provide care, support, activities and a chance to socialise outside of a person’s home. Day centres provided by the council are operated in purpose–built opportunities centres spread across the county.

Deliberate deprivation of assets rules means an allegation that a person has intentionally deprived themselves of, or reduced their overall assets in order to reduce the amount they are charged towards their care home fees. Usually this allegation is made after an Attorney or the person themselves has made a gift and the Local Authority alleges that the money should have been used for care home fees. At Steene Law Ltd, we fight deliberate deprivation allegations care home disputes frequently and win!

If a person has not appointed an Attorney(s) and then is found to ‘lack mental capacity’ then a person (usually family) can apply to the Court of Protection to become someone’s deputy. The Deputy is then authorised by the Court of Protection to make decisions on their behalf. There are two types of Deputy: Property and Financial Affairs Deputy, that deals with property and finance and Personal Welfare Deputy that deals with medical treatments and health care. You can apply to be appointed as both types of Deputy. It can be very difficult to be appointed as a Deputy for Health and Welfare. If you are appointed a Deputy you must send a yearly detailed report to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) along with the decisions you’ve made. We ask everyone who contacts Steene Law to encourage their loved ones who still have mental capacity to make Lasting Powers of Attorney, as being a Deputy is nowhere near as good as being someone’s Attorney.

Now called DHSC– Department of Health and Social Care.

Not that we have, to date, seen much ‘social care’ policy. The Green Paper on paying for social care will be issued by the DHSC.

Payments made by a Local Authority directly to a person with care and support needs so they can choose where, how and when to buy their own care and support.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is being replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for disabled people

DoLS are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (soon to be replaced by Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). In 2014 a Court case known as ‘Cheshire West’ introduced what is called the “Acid Test”. This Acid Test was meant to simplify the definition of a deprivation of liberty. Anyone is deemed as being deprived of their liberty if they are not free to leave and are under constant supervision. Think of a care home where the front door is locked and you need to key or a code to get out. A DoLS is protection for people in hospitals or care homes who are unable to make decisions about their own care and support, property or finances. The DoLS safeguards exist to make sure that people do not lose the right to make their own decisions for the wrong reasons. The DoLS safeguard aims (but doesn’t always succeed) to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. If you find that your relative is subject to a DoLS and you disagree with the restrictions, call us at Steene Law for a FREE chat.

The Local Authority pays you money (usually via a prepaid credit card) so you can choose what care to buy. The amount, in our view rarely correctly calculated is intended to fund a package of care that has been calculated according to what ADL’s you cannot achieve.

DPA or sometimes called a Deferred Funding Agreement is, at first glance, a low–cost loan from the LA to pay care fees. It appears superficially attractive “you don’t have to sell mum’s home”. However, the compound interest, the one–off fees, the annual fees and ‘what happens when the person passes away’, all need to be explained to anyone considering taking a Deferred Payment Agreement

Criteria is a term used to discharge patients from hospitals who are deemed “medically fit for discharge” and therefore no longer need a hospital environment but still require rehabilitation or reablement. This may be provided either at home, or in a care home. If you think getting a person out of a hospital bed is for their benefit, consider what one CCG wrote: “D2A is also thought to reduce costs of on–going care packages and care home placements, providing benefit [to], Local Authorities and CCGs” What a shock! If you are told your family member is in a DTA (D2A) bed, up to the first 6 weeks after hospital discharge will be paid for by the NHS. After that, it’s back to the means test, or hoping your family member qualifies for NHS–funded care. If you believe your relative is at risk of being discharged too early or has already been discharged, call Steene law for a FREE chat.

This is used by the CCG to determine CHC eligibility. The Decision Support Tool scoring is designed to help health care professionals make decisions about CHC eligibility in a consistent manner. That is not our experience. The Decision Support Tool should be used following a comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment of an individual’s health and social care needs and their desired outcomes. At Steene Law, every day we see DSTs that do not follow the decision support tool for NHS continuing healthcare. If you feel the decision support tool scoring is wrong, call us for a free chat. The Decision Support Tool is not an assessment in itself. It is meant to be a way of bringing together and applying evidence in a single document to try and get consistent, evidence–based decision–making, regarding NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility. In our view, this document is used to deny many people the NHS funding they are entitled to.

Something that the law says the Council must do. They don’t always interpret the law correctly and if you disagree with a decision about someone’s care, especially if they are a self funder, call us.

Department of Work & Pensions. If your relative is in receipt of a benefits and they are in hospital, you will need to call the DWP as certain benefits will sometimes need to be suspended.

European Convention on Human Rights. This EU legislation created the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”). The ECHR looked at the postcode lottery for CHC and threatened to issue court proceedings over how individual CCGs where misinterpreting the National Framework for NHS CHC funding. Individual CCG’s were placing arbitrary caps on funding and failed to consider the specific needs of individual patients. This amounted to a breach of the Human Rights Act, the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Department of Health and Social Care’s own NHS CHC framework. When threatened with Court action, the CCGs agreed to follow the rules. However, in Steene Law’s experience, the NHS CHC Funding continues to be a postcode lottery.

Estimated (Hospital) Discharge Date. This is the anticipated length of stay in a hospital due to clinical needs that can only be met in hospital. Believe it or not, the EDD is set as soon as the patient enters hospital! At Steene Law we often get call from family members who are worried that the person in hospital is being discharged too early. The reason, in part, may be that the hospital has a target to get patients home by the EDD date. If you find that a family member has been told to go home and you don’t agree, call Steene Law for FREE and we will work to ensure it is not the EDD date that is sending someone home too early.

A person who has support needs that requires social services to get involved is deemed to have “Eligible Needs”. This is a term that is referred to in the Care Act 2014.

The definition of eligible needs comes from the Care Act 2014. The national eligibility criteria set a minimum threshold for adult social care. All local authorities must, as a minimum, meet these needs. ‘Needs’ include a person’s day to day outcomes such as eating, dressing, toileting, being appropriately clothed, using their home safely, maintaining a habitable home environment developing and maintaining family and other personal relationships and access to work or education.

This is the provision of specialist care for older people with mental frailty. The term refers to older people who usually have mental health or physical difficulties and may be frail. However, those who are living with dementia and require a care or nursing home don’t, by default, live in EMI accommodation.

Not able to be made after October 2007 and limited to property and finance.

The so–called Local Authority “means test”. This is the conversation the Council has to have with the service user or their representative to gather information. Following this, the formal means–test takes place under the relevant charging policy rules. This helps determine whether or how much an adult can afford to contribute towards any care and support services and to record other financial details such as benefits.

FNC is paid by CCGs to people who need nursing care in a nursing home. If, following a Decision Support Tool eligibility check for CHC, instead of getting full non–means tested NHS Continuing Healthcare, a person only gets NHS funded nursing care for dementia, it’s worth a call to Steene Law to have a FREE chat.

This is the method that should be used if your relative has a rapidly deteriorating condition and may be entering into what is known as their terminal phase. CCGs treat terminal phases “as lasting no longer than 12 weeks”, but that is wrong in law. The National Framework specifically states that a terminal phase is not determined by time.

The Fast Track method to get NHS Continuing Healthcare is meant to be used when a clinician considers a patient’s condition has rapidly deteriorated, and if they are judged by a doctor or nurse to be in their so called “terminal phase”. Once Fast Track NHS continuing healthcare has been approved the NHS must provide for the care at the person’s home, or in a care home. If you are being told it is being withdrawn, call Steene Law for a FREE chat, as removing the fast track pathway continuing healthcare may be unlawful

Health & Social Services and Social Security Adjudication Act 1983 (since repealed)

HNA or sometime called a Care Plan or London Health Needs Assessment Tool. If your relative is having a Local Authority or NHS health needs assessment, you should call Steene Law for a FREE conversation as you may discover that the care your relative needs may be available free if you obtain continuing healthcare funding.

Sometimes known as domiciliary care, this is care and support provided in the individual’s home to meet their assessed needs and maintain their independence.

Usually referred to by a Local Authority if there is an allegation of Deliberate Deprivation of Assets. Not good news!

How much, or rather how little, social services will pay towards meeting a person’s Eligible Needs. This so–called indicative budget gives an estimate of the level of funding that will be allocated to a person in their Personal Budget to meet their eligible needs. In almost all instances, we find the Indicative Budget has been set too low and a call to Steene Law might change that.

Good people who listen to those whose voices don’t get heard and speak up on their behalf. Steene Law Ltd are not IMCAs but we listen and advocate for our clients. What an IMCA should do is find out about the person’s wishes, feelings, values and beliefs by talking to the person, those involved in their care and treatment and any other people who might be in a position to comment. At Steene Law we often find that the very people who need IMCAs are denied them. The IMCA must help the person to participate in any decisions made about them. IMCAs write a report about the person’s wishes, feelings, values and beliefs and any alternative options which might be available. At Steene Law we recommend an IMCA in appropriate circumstances.

Where CHC appeals are heard. This appeal process is run by NHS England. There are usually three decision makers including an independent lay chairman, a health professional and social worker who can’t be from same CCG who made the decision you are appealing. We sometimes question the impartiality of some or all of the panel members. If you are due to face an IRP, call Steene Law for a FREE chat.

Lots of case law based on Income Support cases.

A very useful person and Steene Law Ltd use one if the Local Authority social worker doesn’t agree with our assessment and we need an independent and impartial view. Well worth the fee.

There are 150 local authorities (councils) that have social services departments.

Instructions from DHSC. Red tape from central Government. Sometimes impossible to comprehend.

Very helpful where a Local Authority is not playing by the rules. Call Steene Law to see if we can help

Used by social workers to establish Eligible Needs. It has lots of different names, but essentially records in writing everything about the person and their needs.

Once you have made an LPA you give another person (usually, but not always, family) the authority to act for you if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. When they are making decisions for you, they are called your “Attorney”. It’s a big responsibility being an Attorney and very costly to the Attorney if they get it wrong. Remember an LPA can only be signed if an individual has mental capacity to make an LPA. Too many people leave making an LPA too late, when they don’t have mental capacity. Under an LPA, an individual can appoint anyone who agrees to act as their Attorney. An Attorney has to act in the best interests of the person making the LPA (not their own!)

In our view the single most important document anyone can have.

A Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs covers decisions about money and property.

For CHC appeals to your local CCG. A depressing fact – 80 per cent of all Local Resolution Panel appeals fail. (Source–NHS Continuing Healthcare Quarterly Figures CCG Q3 2018–19 Data Collection.) If you have had a Decision Support Tool (DST) meeting, and have been declined CHC, you could appeal or call Steene Law and we can have a FREE chat to talk through your options.

(as at beginning of 2019 still going through Parliament) LPS are a replacement for DoLs

This is the law that governs divorce, matrimonial proceedings and maintenance agreements.

Very important legislation for Attorneys and Deputies.

A must read for every Attorney or Deputy. If you are an Attorney or Deputy and want a FREE chat about your obligations, call Steene Law for a FREE chat.

A group of health and social care professionals who are meant to work together to determine whether a person is eligible for support following the rules in the National Framework for CHC. In practice, we rarely see compliance.

You should not agree to be discharged from hospital until you are MFFD. If you disagree with a hospital’s decision, call us!

Very important as there may be an entitlement for non means tested Continuing Healthcare (CHC) arising out of a Mental Health condition.

Replaced by The Care Act 2014

Repealed by Care Act 2014

A package of care sorted out and funded 100 per cent by the NHS where it has been assessed via a Decision Support Tool (DST). This meansthat an individual has what is known as a Primary Health Need that has arisen as a result of disability, accident or illness. This care package can then be provided in your home, or a nursing or residential care home, however more recently CCG’s are refusing to fund CHC unless the person is in a residential care home. This is unlawful, and if you find that the CCG will only fund CHC in a residential care setting, call us.

For NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS–funded Nursing Care – October 2018 (Revised), otherwise known as the ‘National Framework for CHC 2018’. This is the law relating to Continuing Healthcare (CHC) or NHS Funding. It was revised in October 2018, and sets out core values, principles, guidance, and details of the assessment processes for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS–Funded Nursing Care. How the National Framework is interpreted is subject to wide swings depending on where you live. As an example, in Manchester 41 people (per 50,000 of the population) qualified for CHC, yet 9 miles away in Bury, 119 people (per 50,000 of the population) qualified. At Steene Law we consider such a variation to be unfair and fight for those who have been denied a right they have paid a lifetime of tax for.

This is the most important court case in defining what is classed as non means tested NHS Continuing Healthcare Care (CHC) and what is means tested social care. Pamela Coughlan made a claim for CHC against her local Health Authority and eventually won in the Court of Appeal. She fought and didn’t give up. A tip – if you find yourself having to refer to ‘Coughlan’ in correspondence with a CCG as opposed to evidence about your relative, it is our experience that the CCG will not award CHC. Coughlan is a single legal case. Yes, it’s an important one but it does not define whether your relative is eligible. In the Coughlan case, the Court created a distinction between Local Authority Funding (which is means tested via the Financial Assessment) and NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding (which is free at the point of need). Pam Coughlan’s win meant that Local Authorities could only legally provide healthcare services that were: “Merely incidental and ancillary to the provision of accommodation which a Local Authority is already under duty to provide; of a nature, which it can be expected that an authority whose primary responsibility is to provide Social Services can be expected to provide.” Clear?! Don’t worry if it isn’t – call Steene Law and we will help you decide if you are entitled to ask the NHS to pay your relative’s care fees.

Sometimes called Continuing Healthcare, also called NHS Continuing Healthcare funding and NHS Continuing or Continuous Care funding

NHS England is meant to control and ensure consistent services throughout the 195 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) by overseeing the commission (purchase) of hospital and community NHS services in their local areas on our behalf. The creation of NHS England was meant to stop the postcode lottery. In our experience, it has not.

It is our view that NHS Funded Nursing Care (FNC) is a CHC consolation prize.

In Adult social care law “next of kin” means nothing. If you wish your next of kin to have the power to make decisions for you when you cannot, you need to appoint them as your Attorney(s) under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs). Don’t rely on being next of kin – a Lasting Power of Attorney always trumps being a NOK.

Social and health care provided to a person who is living in a care home registered with the Care Quality Commission as a nursing home, rather than in their own home.

A Government Department that deals with the registration of LPAs and investigates allegations against Attorneys or Deputies.

A term used by social workers to measure how well care and support services achieve the outcomes that matter most to people. Great in theory, the reality rarely matches the expectation.

Usually set up when a person is assessed as having significant ongoing healthcare needs. If you are told you need a PoC you might have to pay for it yourself unless you get CHC. A Package of Care should be provided irrespective of whether your relative lives in their own home, in a residential care home or in a nursing home.

In theory, Personal Health Budgets are intended to enable people with long term conditions and disabilities to have “greater choice, flexibility and control over the health care and support they receive.” The reality is that a Personal Health Budget cannot be used to pay anyone who lives with you and provides care and support. If you find that your Personal Health Budget is being challenged, call us – we can fight to keep it.

PIP can help a person with some of the extra costs of long term ill–health or disability. The amount a person receives depends on how their condition affects them, not the condition itself. That is the theory but at Steene Law we don’t always see this in practice.

This means a person’s health need is of a nature beyond which Local Authority Social Services department would ordinarily be expected to provide and if the nursing or care home setting is “more than incidental or ancillary to the provision of accommodation which the Local Authority Social Services…are under a duty to provide.” At Steene Law, if we can prove that your relative has a PHN that means your relative has passed the Checklist and DST stages and are entitled to CHC. We always spend the time to establish if there is a Primary Health Need, irrespective of what the CCG Assessor from the CCG says.

The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman investigates complaints where we feel our clients have been treated unfairly or have received poor service from Local Authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups. They are impartial and often a cost effective way of achieving the outcome our clients seeks.

A placement is made when the council agrees it will place an individual under the care of a provider (usually a residential nursing or care home) to supply care and support for the individual.

If you don’t have one, get one as soon as possible, before your relative loses the ability to make one (in fact two!) Since 2007 there are now two POAs you can make. One is for Health and Welfare and the other is for Property and Financial Affairs. Once you have made them, you have LPAs (Lasting Powers of Attorney).

A system local authorities use that is meant to ensure a fair allocation is made to people who need extra support. We disagree that it is fair.

The care provided to a person who is living in a care home on a temporary or permanent basis (any establishment providing accommodation with personal or nursing care) rather than their own home.

Temporary residential care for the cared for person which enables a carer to look after their own health and wellbeing and to take a break from caring.

Very powerful law (sometimes called the “snoopers charter”) and is used extensively by Local Authorities in checking if Financial Assessments have been filled in correctly.

The Relevant Person’s Representative function is to maintain contact with the detained person under a DoLs and to represent and support them in all matters relating to the deprivation of their liberty, including challenging it.

Safeguarding Adults Board was set up by the Care Act 2014 to help protect adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect. If your relative is the subject of a Safeguarding Adults Board call us at Steene Law for a FREE chat, we are experts in this area of law.

These are adults with care and support needs who have been identified as needing safeguards in order to prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect. If your relative has been identified as a SAR or you are meeting with a Safeguarding Adults Board call us at Steene Law for a FREE chat. We are experts in this area of law.

A person who finds themselves having to pay for their own care as they either have savings worth more than £23,250 or they own their own property. Self–funded care is sufficient reason to call us. Self–funders in care homes have to arrange and pay for their own care services and do not receive financial help from the council. It’s very unfair and at Steene Law we have been able to turn a self–funder resident into someone whose care is paid for by NHS Continuing Healthcare. You can ask Steene Law Ltd to check if you qualify for any help with costs. We have been successful in not only getting self–funders’ care costs reduced or halted by winning NHS Continuing Health care (CHC) but in some instances, we’ve also obtained many thousands of pounds in refunds for self–funders. If you are a self–funder, why not call Steene Law – what have you to lose?

A nearly 100–year–old law that Steene Law recently used to save a client from having to pay care home fees. Click here to read more about SLA.

Social Services is a department within a Local Authority. Social services employ social workers. The intended role of social workers is to support people and their families through difficult times and ensure that vulnerable adults are protected from harm. At Steene Law we sometimes come across social workers who need to be reminded of their roles and responsibilities.

NHS CHC cases which are not Fast Track. This includes those that have been agreed eligible via the standard NHS CHC assessment route (i.e. positive Decision Support Tool checklist (DST) and those Fast Track cases that have been reviewed and changed to Standard NHS CHC.

Part of the Care Act 2014 which places a legal duty on Local Authorities to investigate allegations of abuse, physical or financial.

If you have been threatened with a TOLATA Court case, you need to call us now!

Top up fees are what a self–funder in care homes has to pay on top of the amount that a Local Authority contributes towards a resident’s care home fees. If a person has capital below £23,250, they are eligible for Local Authority funding to pay for their nursing or residential care home fees. However, to get a room in the care home of choice, a person’s family might be asked to contribute a “top up”. The difference between the cost of the care home, less the local authority contribution is called the top–up. Top up fees for care homes can be anything between £50 and £500 per week. If you are paying top up fees for a relative we suggest you call Steene Law as, in certain circumstances, care home top up fees are illegal.

It replaces Income Support, income–based Jobseekers Allowance, income–related Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, and Child Tax credit.

This is a term often banded around by the NHS to justify not paying NHS CHC Funded care. This is a complex area.The CCG argument runs as follows: because an individual’s needs are ‘well–managed’, they don’t have a ‘primary health need’ and so are ineligible for CHC Funding. However, that argument only succeeds if the healthcare need has either been permanently reduced or removed altogether.What you need to do is assess the baseline level of routine care needed and if an individual still has health needs over and above what ordinarily would be expected, even if those needs are ‘well–managed’, they may be eligible for CHC Funding. Remember: well–managed needs are still needs!