Guildcare - Providing Fair Access to Care Homes

Providing Fair Access

To Care Homes

Supporting people to enter a Guild Care home.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE TO YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

All care matters to Guild Care and we ensure that residents of our care homes live in real homes surrounded by their own furniture and possessions wherever possible.

Introduction Guild Care has provided the town of Worthing with access to high quality care homes in our local community for nearly 60 years.

Guild Care’s Care Home Portfolio

Over the decades we have supported over 5000 people to live well within our residential and nursing care homes. In 2019 we have 3 purpose built/newly converted homes which provide the people of Worthing with 177 fully accessible high-quality care home beds.

Caer Gwent, located in the centre of Worthing, is our most recently developed home. It has been furnished in the style of a traditional country manor house and it has exemplary facilities.

We know that most people want to stay in their home for as long as possible and to help them achieve this Guild Care runs a number of community services such as home care, day services and respite care to help older people in the community remain active, socially supported and as independent as possible well into old age.

At Caer Gwent the attention to detail is faultless, from furnishings through to menus and the activities that are provided. The home caters for all residents but focuses on supporting people with high levels of care and nursing need. The home has built a reputation for providing compassionate end of life care, provided within beautiful surroundings that supports both the resident and their family.

Despite this work, sometimes there comes a point when living at home is no longer an option and if that point comes, then Guild Care will be here for you.

The home is also very popular for people looking for respite because of its warm and accessible care service and for many people the quality of the service and the furnishings makes it feel like they are truly at home.

Guild Care is not an ordinary care home provider because we really do believe it is better to support people to live well in the community, but if you do need care towards the end of your life, we will provide the best possible quality care that is available in Worthing.

Caer Gwent has 58 large ensuite rooms and a 2-bedroom luxury apartment with its own living accommodation which is particularly suitable for couples.

At Guild Care we also give a promise that this is your ‘Home for Life’ which means that no-one will have to leave one of our homes even if their financial situation changes.

All of our care home beds are suitable for all types of care needs, including specialist needs dementia and end of life care.

Guild Care’s Care Homes are all rated GOOD by CQC.

Haviland House is a Level 1 Dementia Care Matters Butterfly Home and has achieved ‘OUTSTANDING’ under CQC’s Key Lines of Enquiry for Responsiveness.

Haviland House, opened in 2014 is the first purpose-built dementia care home with nursing in Sussex. The home is situated in north Goring, on the border with Ferring and has 63 fully accessible, ensuite rooms.

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Haviland House is a dedicated dementia care facility providing a home-from-home for residents who are no longer able to manage by themselves because of their dementia.

It is a particularly popular home for couples who can live together in one of the small suites. For other couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia, the separate dementia suite can often provide an opportunity for them to remain together within one homely environment, allowing the unaffected partner to be able to spend their quality time together within a supportive environment.

In 2017 Guild Care started working with Dementia Care Matters to ensure that the quality of the dementia care provided is of the highest possible standard. In December 2018 we were extremely proud to be awarded the first Level 1 Dementia Care Matters Kitemark within West Sussex. The Kitemark is only awarded to care homes that demonstrate outstanding person-centred dementia care. At the same time the home achieved an OUTSTANDING rating from CQC under the Key Line of Enquiry for Responsiveness.

Our Fees Annually Guild Care reviews its care home fees for residents. As a charity, Guild Care has to ensure that our homes are self-sufficient and that any surplus we generate is directly re-invested back into care services. It is also always our priority to ensure that fees are based on a fair assessment of the following costs each year:

At Haviland House, Guild Care has a commitment to providing care on a ‘not for profit’ basis. By this we mean that the home does not generate surplus income. There is also a promise that, in all but a very few occasions, residents will be able to reside within the home for the remainder of their lives. This is because of its specialist care and family household approach which allows for the separation of needs as people’s condition changes and progresses.

• Direct Costs • Indirect Costs The charging of fees within a care home environment is complex and made harder still because statutory authorities consistently pay a rate below that of the cost of care for an organisation such as Guild Care.

All of the fees charged by Guild Care homes contribute to the cost of staffing, including the nursing teams, regardless of whether an individual resident is assessed as needing nursing care. The biggest single element of these fees is to pay towards staffing costs which on average account for 75% of the direct costs of running a home.

If a resident is eligible for NHS funded nursing care we will claim a nursing payment (FNC) from the NHS on top of the agreed fees.

Alternatively, the resident can make this claim for themselves and Guild Care will invoice separately for the full amount.

Linfield House, located close to Worthing’s town centre is Guild Care’s smallest home at 54 beds. It is known for high quality nursing care and has a separate dementia suite of 11 beds on the ground floor.

Guild Care operates a very transparent fee charging policy. Once a resident enters a Guild Care home they are not asked to pay any further fees, other than an annual cost of living/inflation uplift which may be required. In time, if funding becomes a problem we are also prepared to reduce our fees to help preserve a resident’s remaining capital.

The home was fully refurbished in 2018 and offers attractive and spacious accommodation.

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Where a resident wishes to reserve a room, we will apply a £250 room deposit. Room reservations will be limited to a maximum period of time, usually no more than 2 weeks.

All our fees cover the cost of: • • • • • •

Food Personal equipment needs Medical supplies Activities Some therapies Laundry and cleaning services

For 2019/20 our care home fee rates for new private fee paying residents are as follows:

Caer Gwent

Haviland House

Linfield House

Private Rate Higher

£1,560

£1,634

£1,448

Cost of Care Rate

£1,337

£1,501

£1,258

18%

10%

16%

Caer Gwent

Haviland House

Linfield House

£740

£867

£746

Catering Costs

£97

£104

£99

Medical and Care Consumables

£16

£22

£16

Building Management Costs

£44

£36

£39

Sundries

£12

£20

£11

£910

£1,047

£911

Head Office Costs

£257

£307

£238

All other

£188

£151

£117

Total

£445

£458

£355

£1,355

£1,505

£1,258

Fee Type

Private Fee Payer Contribution

These costs are based on the following cost of care for the year:

Direct Costs Staff Costs

Total

Indirect Costs

The Cost of Care

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Unfortunately, some new residents may not have sufficient income to support their entire stay and will need to use capital from the sale of a home, for example, to contribute towards costs. In this case funds will have a limit and Guild Care needs to understand when it is likely that a resident will no longer be able to afford the full cost of their care. By undertaking a financial review, Guild Care can help residents better plan their stay and whether as a charity we are able to offer financial support as and when funds diminish.

Paying for Care As a responsible care provider Guild Care recognises that it is important that new residents understand the financial commitment they are making when entering a care home. Particularly where the duration of their stay could be for a long period of time.

Guild Care asks all new residents (or their representatives) to complete a financial review with an independent financial advisor of their choice before entering one of our homes. We offer access to an independent financial advice service through a local accredited company who specialise in advising people on paying for the cost of their care.

It is Guild Care’s policy to charge fees at the cost of care fee level when a resident has less than 12 months of funding available.

It is our promise that we will never ask a resident to leave one of our homes simply because their funding has run out.

The cost of the service is ÂŁ150 which is refundable on entry to one of our homes. We will also accept an independent financial assessment provided by any other accredited independent financial advisor should a resident prefer to use their own consultant.

Once a resident has entered a Guild Care home we are fully committed to supporting them for the duration of their stay, even if that means we will need to accept state funded rates at some point in time. As our care homes are only one part of our charitable work, it is essential that we plan our finances to ensure that we can support residents in the home of their choice for the long term without adversely affecting other parts of our charitable services.

Financing the cost of care is a complex area and there are a number of organisations which can provide residents and their relatives with support and information on paying for care. Please see Appendix 1 of this document for more information.

Types of Funding This assessment provides both the resident and Guild Care with essential information about funds available to pay for what is a very significant and ongoing cost. Generally, we have an expectation that new privately funded residents are able to fund the cost of their care for 3 years.

Once funding levels are known it is then possible for a new resident to choose their preferred home knowing that they are making a choice which they can afford for the longer term and that their new home will be suitable for the remainder of their lives.

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Private Funding, new residents who own their own homes or who have other assets are expected by the local authority to fund the cost of their care, unless a partner (or dependent over 60) continues to need to live in the home.

During the first 12 weeks of a resident’s placement there is a property disregard rule and if the Local Authority agrees to pay fees for the first 12 weeks, Guild Care will require a resident to pay the difference between what the Local Authority has agreed to pay and our standard fee. Information on the property disregard rule can be found in the West Sussex Care Guide 2016/17.

State Funding, there are regulations to establish whether a person is eligible for Local Authority support towards the cost of care.

More information is available from a variety of sources including the West Sussex County Council booklet entitled ‘Choosing and Paying for Care in a Residential or Nursing Home’. This is available from Adult Services and on the West Sussex County Council’s website West Sussex Connect to Support.org As a short guide, if a resident has less than the upper limit in savings and does not own their own house, the local authority will help towards or pay the full cost of care following their own assessment of care needs.

Continuing Health Care, Continuing Health Care is a name given to a package of care which is arranged and funded solely by the NHS for individuals who are being supported outside of hospital who have ongoing health care needs.

If eligible for NHS continuing health care a resident will need to discuss their circumstances with the Care Home Manager who will be able to advise on the matter.

NHS Funded Nursing Care, is the standard nursing care payment towards the cost of providing registered nursing care for those individuals who are assessed by the NHS as having an ongoing nursing need. The fee will be claimed by either the resident or Guild Care and charged on top of our standard fees.

Care Home Bed Access Policy Guild Care’s ‘Fair Access’ to care home beds strategy allows us to allocate a range of beds for different fee levels. For 2019/20 our policy is for the following number of beds: Caer Gwent

Haviland House

Linfield House

% of Total

60 Beds

63 Beds

54 Beds

177 Beds

48

45

47

73%

Cost of Care

6

6

5

12%

State

6

12

3

15%

Fee Type Private

Funded beds are allocated on a priority basis. If we expect an existing resident to need access to either a cost of care or state funded bed within the year, then they will be given priority over an external applicant.

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We will be introducing for these carers 1 week’s free respite per year with the ability to extend for a further week at the direct cost of care.

Where we have a vacancy for either a cost of care or state bed, then priority will be given to new ‘nursing’ or ‘dementia’ residents who can demonstrate their need and who have strong links with the town of Worthing.

We would like to expand this service to all carers in need and are looking to raise £150K p.a. to support the provision of a free respite care service within all our homes.

This approach to care home bed access provides local people with a real opportunity to benefit from high quality care home beds within the town of Worthing. Our commitment to having both cost of care and state funded beds within our homes means that Guild Care is expecting to provide circa £1.3M of charitable support across our care home portfolio during 2019/20.

Any donation that you may wish to make to Guild Care will be greatly appreciated.

Respite Care Before permanently entering into a care home, many potential new residents find that a period of respite care will help them to remain at home for longer. This may be to allow their carer (usually a family member) to take a break or because they need to recuperate after a stay in hospital. Whatever the reason, either short or long-term respite care is an increasingly essential service, particularly for carers of people with dementia, to remain at home for longer.

An increasingly popular service that we now offer is for bookable respite care within Caer Gwent and Linfield House. Bookings can be made in advance through our Customer Enquiries Team. If you would like to find out more about the service, please contact them on 01903 327327 or email customerenquiries@guildcare.org Rates are based on our standard private fee rate for each week of booking.

Funded Respite Care at Haviland House As a charity, Guild Care strongly supports access to respite care for all parts of our community. We appreciate that for some people even paying a reduced fee for respite care is simply beyond their means.

In recognition of this difficulty and the pressures on carers of people with dementia, we are about to launch a new service for carers of customers who use our Butterflies Day Service.

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Head Office, Methold House, North Street, Worthing BN11 1DU Information correct as of February 2019 Registered Charity Number 1044658