Section 3:

Home - Mobility - Social Care - Insurance - After a Death

Contents

  • If your home no longer meets your needs, your local council will be able to advise you. You can find your local council here.

    If you’d like to ask for council housing, and you’re not sure which local council to contact, you can find out using the Government website.

    If you are in social housing, try getting in touch with your landlord. They may have schemes in place to help meet your needs. This includes adjusting your home or bringing in services to support you. You be able to apply for a different home or to swap homes with another social housing tenant.

    If your home needs adaptations, please see our ‘I need some equipment to support me at home. What should I do?’ section below.

    Sometimes, a person needs to move into somewhere with more support. There are various options with different levels of support. You’ll find more information, including what these might cost, at: Housing choices Age UK.

    For information about what happens to property after someone dies, including rights if you live in housing association or council housing, please see our information at the bottom of this section, ‘What do I do after someone dies?’

  • You may need some changes to your home to be comfortable getting around. Small adaptations are often free through your local council. See: Home adaptations: NHS

    You start with a home assessment. This is by your local council. Apply on the Government website.

    • Social Housing Adaptions - If you live in social housing, your landlord may make minor adaptations for you.

    • Care Needs Assessment - You may also want to ask for a care needs assessment. We have more information in the section ‘I’m finding it hard to manage daily life’ section below.

    • Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) - You may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). This can help with the cost of bigger home adaptations. The government website has a guide to DFG.

    • More information - You can find out more about adaptations and home assessments from Age UK or the NHS.

  • If your mobility has got worse, speak to your GP. You might need some tests, or a physiotherapy assessment. You may find a walking aid is helpful. There’s a useful NHS guide about walking aids here.

    If you struggle with getting around your home, you may need your home adapted. See the ‘I need some equipment to support me at home. What should I do?’ section directly above.

I’m finding it hard to manage daily life. Where can I find support for myself
or someone else?

There’s an excellent guide to care and support on the NHS website, including what it is, how to get it, and what it costs here. You can also get advice for your situation via our Access Ava ChatBot page. We’ve summarised some of the key points below:

  • You can ask the local council for a Care Needs Assessment. This is where the social services team visit you and work out what support might help you. They look at how they can help you live as independently as you can.

    There are lots of things social services could suggest. This might be:

    • adding things to your home, like a walk-in shower, or a ramp to your door.

    • offering equipment you can use, like a walking frame.

    • a paid carer to help you out at home.

    • places like lunch clubs that help with support or care through the day.

    • Moving into a care home where you have help to manage daily tasks. You can find out more about care homes on the NHS website.

    The assessment is completely free. But you might need to pay toward the changes or services they suggest. What you pay is based on things like owning a home or how much money you have. This is called means testing. There’s more about means testing for social care below.

    You can find out more on the NHS guide to care needs assessment. If you do apply, make sure to check their section on ‘How to Prepare for Your Assessment’.

    If you do need support, a care and support plan is the next step. You can find out more on the NHS guide to care and support plan.

  • There is a free carer’s assessment. You can get this if you give regular care to someone who is ill, older, or disabled. These assessments are done by the local council’s social services team.

    The assessment is completely free. But you might need to pay toward the changes or services they suggest. This could be things like help with housework, or exercise classes to help with stress.

    What you pay is based on how much money you have. This is called means testing. To find out more information in our section on means testing just below.

    You can find out more about the carer’s assessment using this carers’ assessments video from Carers UK, or on the NHS carer’s assessment guide.

    It’s hard to be a carer. There’s a lot to do and even more to remember. That’s why Age UK has made this great checklist for carers. It has easy to follow steps to getting the help you need.

  • Means testing is a way of checking how much money or property each person already has. This is to find out how much financial help each person can get. Depending how much money or property you have, you might need to pay more, or less, toward your care or support. Some people don’t pay anything at all.

    You can find out more using this NHS guide.

    In some situations, the NHS pays to help someone live at home, or in a care home. This is called Continuing Healthcare Funding. See our ‘Continuing Healthcare Funding’ section below for more information.

  • Sometimes people are unhappy after their assessment. That might be because they don’t think their needs have been properly understood, care has been declined, or they have been asked to pay.

    It is possible to make a complaint. If you are going to make a complaint, make sure you read the Money Helper guide.

    The Access Ava ChatBot can also help.

  • Paying for social care can feel scary for people, but there is help out there.

    The NHS have produced an excellent short guide to care and support, including what social care is, how to get it, and what it costs here. There’s more detail about paying for social care on the Age UK website here.

    You can use the AccessAva ChatBot to get advice for the situation you’re in. 

    You can also get advice from Safeguarding Futures. This company helps people to understand:

    • social care

    • the cost of social care

    • how to manage money

    • how to manage property

    They will arrange to have a chat with you about this. It is classed as a consultation, but it is completely free. If you want them to keep helping you after your consultation it will cost money.

    You can find more from the Safeguarding Futures website.

  • Continuing Healthcare funding (CHC) helps people get free health care outside of hospital.

    It is a bit different from social care. It Is only for people with certain health problems. You will need an assessment before you can get it. But if you qualify, you will either be given care at home or offered a place in a care home.

    You can find out more about CHC funding generally by using AskAva chatbot or taking a look at this NHS guide.

    If you want to know about the assessment process, try this guide from Access Social Care.

  • There is an NHS funded advice service. You can get 90 minutes of free advice about CHC funding. This includes guidance on how likely you are to get funding and how to get ready for your assessment. You can find out more using the Beacon guide to continuing health care.

    You might also find useful information at Care To Be Different and there is an advice line you can call.

  • Some people who are assessed for CHC funding do not qualify. If this happens you can try to appeal the decision.

    The AskAva ChatBot will help you with what to do. 

    You can also use the NHS Beacon service. But be aware, it is not free. You can do this on the Beacon CHC website.

    Another good place to ask for help is Care To Be Different. They have an advice line you can call.

  • It’s important to make sure someone can manage at home after being in hospital. Different hospitals have different ways of doing this. But the NHS has made a general guide to planning your care before you leave hospital.

    When someone goes home, carers often take the strain. So they have the right to be involved in planning the hospital discharge. To help carers understand what they can expect from a hospital discharge, there is a guide from Mobilise.

    Sometimes people need extra support or care once they leave hospital to help them recover. This is called intermediate care, or aftercare. This helps a person live as independently as possible. It’s available free, for a maximum of 6 weeks. Reablement is a type of intermediate care, which helps someone re-learn how to do important things, like cook a meal. There’s more information from the NHS here.

    If you need more help, try the AskAvaChatBot.

    The person being discharged was sectioned under the Mental Health Act:

    MIND - Leaving Hospital gives clear information about the rules and what happens when someone is discharged from hospital after being sectioned. MIND also provides information about rights to care after discharge here.

  • We know this is a difficult question to ask. But it is positive that you are taking this seriously. Driving can become a risk to the driver, other road users, and pedestrians.

  • You must tell the DVLA about certain medical conditions and disabilities. These are called notifiable medical conditions. Hiding a notifiable condition is an offence and you could be fined.

    Your doctor or nurse should tell you if you have a notifiable condition. But it is still important to ask them. The DVLA has also made an A to Z of notifiable conditions.

    If you want to contact them about your condition or disability, follow this DVLA guide.

    Some conditions aren’t notifiable but do affect your driving. If you are worried, have a chat with your doctor.

  • The NHS has made an online guide to help you. That includes:

    • driving alternatives

    • help with travel costs

    • disability (blue) badges

     You find out more on the NHS website.

  • A blue badge lets people with disabilities park in places more convenient to them. That might mean somewhere closer to where they need to be.

    The badge links to the person not the car. So, if you get a blue badge, you can use it in your own car, and if you get a lift from someone else.

    Your local council is responsible for blue badges, but you apply through the Government website. The same page also tells you about eligibility.

    Some councils have a list of disabled parking bays. Enter your postcode into this Government guide, and you’ll be redirected to your council’s webpage for blue badges.

    You can also find help and support with transport costs. There are a few ways to do this. If you would like to know more, the Government website has this guide to vehicle and transport financial help for disabilities.

What about insurance?

You can find some information relating to questions around insurance policies and claiming what you (or someone you care for) may be entitled to below…

  • Critical illness insurance pays money if you are diagnosed with an illness listed in a policy you hold. Critical illness might be included in life insurance, so if you have life insurance, it's worth checking.

    Making a claim just involves contacting your insurer. They will need evidence of your diagnosis. It's important to let your insurer know about your diagnosis as soon as possible as they may refuse a claim after a certain time.

  • If you are named on someone's life insurance policy, you may be able to claim some money after they have died. Marie Curie provide a useful guide that may help you.

  • It's important to think about insurance if you're travelling. There's a bit more to think about if you have a long-term or serious illness. This guide from Money Helper will help you find a suitable insurer. 

    This guide from Marie Curie goes through the things you might want to cover with your policy as well as links to other good advice.

  • We know this is a really difficult time. There are lots of tasks to do but these can feel hard when life is turned upside down.

    You make find the charity At a Loss helpful. This offers all the information you will need on their website. This includes advice, practical information and bereavement support.

    We’ve picked out some practical guides below.

    This Government guide gives all the steps you need to follow to register a death, tell government departments and deal with the estate.

    This Citizens Advice guide has some extra details, including when things need to be done and other things to consider, like what to do about mail and a car. 

    Knowing what happens about property can be confusing. You can take a look at this Land Registry guide (the Important Points at the bottom of the guide are useful).

    If you live in a council or housing association house with family, or a partner, they may be able to stay in that home. This is because of something called succession rights. This is the right to inherit the tenancy after a partner or family member dies. There are certain rules to how this works. If you would like guidance, try Citizens Advice or Shelter England.

    Even if you don’t have succession rights, it is worth speaking with your landlord or local authority. You should be pointed toward the right help for your housing needs. 

    For information about pensions after a death, take a look at ‘What happens to my pension after I die?’ on our Money, Pensions, Work, and Benefits page

    You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment. You can find out more in the ‘What are the common benefits people claim?’ section of our Money, Pensions, Work, and Benefits page.

    It’s important for you to think about getting some help for grief. This list from the Government website includes where you can find support by phone, online, face to face, or just some ideas to help you understand how you’re feeling.

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