Chepstow & Caldicot Carers Support Group

JUNE 2002 NEWSLETTER

CARERS... Look after family, partners or friends in need of help. Because they are ill, frail or have a disability. The care they provide is unpaid. THE CHEPSTOW AND CALDICOT CARERS' SUPPORT GROUP Chairman: Alison Short (01291-623771) Secretary: Patsy Lewis (01291-420602) Office: 'Cobblers Pitch', Highmoor Hill, Caerwent, Monmouthshire NP26 5PF Dear Carer, Our May meeting was a great day. We welcomed Roz Williamson, Director of Carers Wales to our day and we took photographs of carers looking at the new website for carers carersonline.org.uk. The latest research is now on the website. Old research over the last 10 years has stated that carers save the government £34 billion. That is what it would cost if all carers downed tools and said "I have had enough!" The new independent research says that we save the government £57BILLION!! (The figure for Monmouthshire is £102million). Roz said that this was an extremely important statistic that we must keep throwing at the government to make them support carers more practically. She said that carers want to be partners in providing a high quality service now that we have this evidence. In the afternoon we welcomed Caroline Greathead, a legal executive from Pontypool who gave us some really good information about Community Care, Fees and Charging Policies, Wills and Enduring Power of Attorney, which, she says, is a MUST for all of us to do, whether we are caring or not, to avoid any expensive problems should things go wrong. If you have a joint bank account with your spouse and one of you has an accident and is no longer aware of what is going on, your bank manager by law could freeze your bank account. This sounded really worrying. Different banks look at this in different ways, but they are within their rights to freeze the whole of the account. If you have Enduring Power of Attorney, this would allow the money to be accessed. If you do not have Enduring Power of Attorney, you will have to apply to the Court of Protection which can take anything from 6-12 months and can cost up to £1,300. Another topic she covered is 'Giving your property and money away' in order to avoid paying Residential Home fees. This is far more complicated than we might imagine and there are lots of pitfalls. She told us that the Community Care Act says that if you have given your property away within 6 months of dying or going into a residential home, then the Local Authority can claim the asset back to pay for fees. After six months, the authority looks for certain criteria, which include: The purpose of the gift. The timing of the gift The state of health of the person making the gift. THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT ON THIS. (i.e., there is no seven year rule, as some people think). There is also FREE CARE available for certain clients, when no fees are charged, irrespective of means. This is when the person involved has been in hospital and requires a high degree of nursing care. Sometimes there is a suggestion that they should be moved into a nursing home, but you should ask for a Continuing Care Assessment, which is a multidisciplinary assessment of all their needs. It will identify if this person should stay in a Continuing Care hospital bed, or if the nursing home placement should be free if the home can cater for the identified needs. Any one with a terminal illness should come into this category. It was a very interesting and amusing talk. She has given us some information booklets, so if you were not at the meeting and would like one, please give me a call. NATIONAL CARERS WEEK You will know by now about our special carers day at the Royal George Hotel Tintern on Thursday 13th June. The programme for Carers Day is interesting and entertaining. There will be an opportunity for you to have your say and of course the lunch will be wonderful. I know you will enjoy it and that is the most important reason for coming. Let me know if you would like to come. On the afternoon of Saturday 17th June, Monmouthshire Crossroads is holding another Strawberry Cream Tea Garden Party, again at the beautiful home of Lord Raglan at Cefn Tilla Park. If you would like some tickets for this, (They are £5.00) contact Monmouthshire Crossroads on 01291-672750. The gardens there are beautiful. NEW SERVICES Care at Home scheme. ("CatH") This is run by Social Services and funded by money from the Welsh Assembly. It gives free help for up to 6 weeks to all vulnerable adults coming out of hospital. The scheme will run from the 1st of April 2002 until the 31st of March 2003. You can use the scheme if you are: Elderly and frail Have a physical or mental disability Have a long term illness The social worker should be contacted whilst the client is still in hospital or as soon after discharge as possible and an assessment will be made. All services for the first 6 weeks after discharge will be free, even if you have been receiving them prior to hospitalisation. After that, charges may be made, depending on financial assessment. Contact Social Services in Chepstow on 01291-635666 if you want more information or speak to the hospital social worker in whichever hospital you are. Our next meeting is on the 6th June at Boverton House, when the Benefits Agency will be with us all day. There are some important changes that will affect carers, so come along and find out. If you want a chat I am at Gray Hill Surgery on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 10:00am-12:00 mid-day. Anyone, subscribers or not, can come and see me there. Ring 01291-420282 for an appointment or take a chance and pop in! For transport to meetings contact Nan Smith on 01291-421665 or Alison Short on 01291-623771. Best wishes, Patsy Lewis.