Disatisfied with care home - what can we do?

[Ang1e]

Hello all,

I am new to this service though I did post an introduction a while ago. This is my second post as my time is being taken up by concerns over my brothers care at the moment.

My adult brother with severe learning disability lives in a small, residential care home in London. The home provides accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care, and learning disabilities.

The care home used to provide a fantastic service and it felt like you had walked into a family home. There was a lot of staff/resident interaction and there was fun and laughter. It was a really nice atmosphere. The last CQC report scored them Outstanding in the Caring category, and good in the other categories. Things have changed though.

Our family are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the service, particularly over the last year, and we have a number of concerns. The care home, and the organisation that run the service, are not making the effort to listen to our concerns let alone address them. After a CQC inspection we raised our concerns with them and the inspection is currently ongoing.

We feel we should start investigating the possibility that we may have to move my brother to a care home that is better able to support his needs.

My brother was signed over to the authorities in 2003 so we are not sure of what we are able to do. My father has since moved from London to West Sussex, so it would make sense that if we want to move him, and if we are able to, it should be somewhere nearer to his family.

Having inherited some money my brother is presently self-funding, though that money will only cover his care for a couple of years. My father picks him up every Saturday, he stays with dad, and returns to the home on Tuesdays. Dad would be unable to care for him full-time at home though.

Our questions are:
Would we able to move my brother from one local authority to another?
Where can we find relevant information?
When his money runs out would the new authority be prepared to fund his care?

I am sure there are more questions that I should be asking but this is a new area for me and I would very much appreciate any help or guidance as I feel out of my depth with this at the moment.

Thanks for any help or suggestions,

Angie

[nigel2113]

Hi Angie,

I suppose you could find more information on the Government website. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is one of the benefits your brother could possibly claim due to his disability. Here's the link: https://www.gov.uk/pip

Also, you said your brother was signed over to the authorities in 2003, do you mean he got a statement?

Nigel

[Ang1e]

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your reply.

I'll have a look at PIP and see what I can find. Presently he receives EESA and DLA. I think he receives mobility allowance currently too. I haven't seen anything to do with PIP but I'll ask our Father as he has financial deputyship from the Court of Protection.

My mother was my brothers' primary carer but she was seriously ill and made arrangements for my brother to go into the care system. I say he was "signed over" as I am unsure of the terminology or the exact process. Mum felt it was a huge responsibility and didn't want us to carry the burden, not that we feel he is a burden of course. We were told a number of years ago that if we wanted to take responsibility of caring for him at home again we would have to prove negligence by the care home. He was never taken from us.

I have tried an internet search on what is meant by "statement" but I haven't found anything meaningful. Can you tell me a little more please nigel2113?

Thanks and kind regards,

Ang1e

[sianwhite]

Hi @Ang1e,

You can read more about 'statementing' here. It can be called different things, and tends to be referred to as an Education, Health and Care Plan nowadays.

I hope this helps!
Sian

[Ang1e]

Thanks so much Sian.

I had a read and it seems to be more relevant to children and young people with a learning disability.

Though interesting to read my brother is an adult. The council he presently comes under provides all the language, psychology, etc. therapists and the care home have a Health Care Plan (HCP) for the residents. We have recently had a meeting at the home to review his Person Centred Plan (PCP) too.

I would imagine that some sort of EHC assessment may need to be carried out if we did relocate him to another councils jurisdiction.

Thanks again,

Ang1e