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Don't delay in taking action to protect future health and welfare, warns Worcester expert
IN Worcestershire it is estimated there are more than 8,600 people living with dementia and this is estimated to rise to around 10,400 by 2020, according to the county council.
One of the contributing factors to this is our ageing population and Worcestershire has a noticeably higher number of older people compared to the national figure. According to the last census 19 per cent of the Worcestershire population was aged 65 or over compared with 16 per cent in England as a whole.
Dementia is not confined to the elderly and with the growing evidence that more of us will end up living with the condition, which gets progressively worse, it is more important than ever that adults put in place official measures to protect their health and welfare for the years to come.
Once a person loses their mental capacity, they have lost the opportunity to officially state their wishes.
Specialist in adult health and welfare issues Catherine Hitchman, who is based in Worcester, said it is extremely important individuals complete and register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for health and welfare.
Mrs Hitchman, who worked for Worcestershire County Council for 10 years advising on adult social care functions, said she has seen the consequences when a person loses their capacity to make decisions and there is no LPA in place relating to their health and welfare.
She said a person could have a stroke and the local authority and health services are looking at discharge planning and the family want them to go home but the authorities feel there are risks and it is in their best interests to go into a residential home.
“If the local authority decision is not accepted by the family or there is no decision because of a dispute, the council would have to refer the case to the Court of Protection,” she said. These sort of cases can be very complicated, costly, long-winded and distressing to family members and the patient, she added. There can also be cases where family members do not agree with each other as well as with the authorities and the patient has died before it is resolved.
“You are going into a whole legal minefield. There are no winners in that situation,” said Mrs Hitchman. If the Court of Protection deals with the case each party involved has to pay their own costs, including the patient who is normally represented by the Official Solicitor, and when this involves solicitors and barristers the fees escalate quickly.
Specialist in adult health and welfare issues Catherine Hitchman, who is based in Worcester, said it is extremely important individuals complete and register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for health and welfare.
Mrs Hitchman said: “The total costs for these proceedings can run into tens of thousands of pounds. Family frustrations can erupt into violence in some cases. It must have an impact on people’s mental health - for whatever reason you think you are doing the right thing and someone else is disagreeing with it.
“Most people know about the property and financial LPA but a lot of people do not know about the health and welfare one.''
“A lot of people think the old Enduring Power of Attorney covers health and welfare but it does not and people are shocked that it does not cover what care people have when they lose capacity and in what environment - nursing home, at home, residential home.”
“There have been cases of a parent being taken from the care home or their own home by a member of the family and I have known some particular proceedings where the patient has passed away before the proceedings are finished.”
She pointed out that these cases tend to take at least 12 months to resolve but can go on for two or three years and the court will make an interim ruling about the patient’s care until a final decision is made.
“There is the emotional strain as well as the financial strain and that feeling of being quite powerless for the members of the family particularly if they don’t have access to their own legal advice. The family can feel this is a decision they should be making.
“By making an LPA you are taking these decisions at that time of your life when you have the capacity to think about them and make informed decisions about what you want to happen if you were to lose the capacity to make your own decisions in the future.
“The LPA eliminates all the problems. The key is that you are making the decisions at the time you have got capacity to make your own decisions and express your wishes and you name someone you trust to be your attorney. The health and welfare LPA only comes into effect when you lose capacity and that is measured by a standard test.
“The attorney is required to act in the best interests of the patient. Once we have had the registered LPA back from the Office of the Public Guardian, it is stored in the strong room and not released until there is evidence and we are sure the person has lost mental capacity.
“Having seen it from both sides and what happens when things go wrong, it is really important to put an LPA in place and not put it off. Do it sooner rather than later.
“At the end of the day, you do not know what is round the corner. You could get struck down with a life limiting illness. It is a good thing to do and it is protection. There is a way to avoid the problems and ensure your wishes are respected.''
More than 100 elderly people a week are having properties seized to pay care fees
Between 30,000-40,000 thought to lose homes this way every year
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Coalition promised a cap on care costs by 2016, but this will only apply to bills of £72,000 or more
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Those with assets of more than £23,250 are expected to pay their own way
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Critics say the system denies families their inheritances and punishes those who have worked hard, saved and paid mortgages
Contact us to find out how we can help you avoid this problem
Families have been forced to hand over properties because local authorities are refusing to pay for the care.
The scale of the confiscations – revealed yesterday by a Freedom of Information request – will pile pressure on the Government to help the thousands of families forced to pay ruinous care fees.
Between 30,000 and 40,000 people a year are thought to lose their homes this way.
Critics say the system denies families their inheritances and punishes those who have worked hard, saved and paid mortgages.
The figures – gathered by the finance firm NFU Mutual – showed that over the past five years councils have taken legal action to secure a share in more than 3,000 older peoples’ homes each year. From 2009 to 2014 the 72 councils questioned put a charge on 15,174 homes.
HOW COUNCILS ARE LAYING CLAIM
Older people with assets of more than £23,250, must pay their own care bills. Many are forced to sell their homes to meet the costs, which are close to £600 a week for an average care home place.
Councils take out a legal charge on a property when an older person will not pay care bills, and the council has to cover the cost. Often the family has failed to sell the home. Some try to give their property to their children if they suspect they will need costly care. But they must still pay care bills for seven years after the gift is made. During this time, the council will put a charge on the property.
A charge is also taken out in the ‘deferred payment’ scheme, which allows the person to stay in their home. The charge ensures the council can seize and sell the property after the owner dies.
The number of properties targeted annually rose by more than 10 per cent over the period – from 2,816 in 2009/10 to 3,109 in the financial year which ended in March.
On average, there were more than eight charges on homes every day. However, if the councils which did not provide FOI answers have been taking homes at the same rate, numbers will be nearly 17 a day, well over 100 a week.
The thousands of homes taken without dispute, from families who agree to sell up and settle their bills before legal pressure from the town hall, are not included in the figures.
In cases where the local authority agrees that the family can delay paying care costs until after the relative has died and their home is sold, councils often treat continued use of the property as a form of loan – and will charge high interest rates when the home is sold. Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: ‘We know that every day, thousands of families face agonising decisions about care … where dwindling savings are just not enough to meet rocketing care costs.’
She added: ‘The Government needs to help people understand … how the system will work and what they will actually have to pay, and ensure a care system is in place that is fit for today’s older people and future generations.’
Seizure of homes happens because of the means test system that affects people who need to go into care homes or have help at home.
Councils carry out the means tests and insist those with property sell it to meet the costs of their care – unless there is a spouse, a disabled relative or a child still living there.
People who have no savings and own no property are given free care home places paid for by councils.
Many cases included in the figures involve people who have failed to pay their bills and now face legal action by local authority lawyers.
Others are a result of ‘deferred payment’ schemes, in which people live in their homes while the council provides care, but the council takes the property after their death.
Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, said the system is ‘grotesquely unfair’.
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