Fair Deal Transition

nellymu

Hello, this is my first time to post on this site so hope I am doing it right!
My mum who has Alzheimers went into a Nursing Home for 2 weeks physio as her mobility was a big issues back in November. Unfortunately she rapidly went downhill and developed pneumonia. Her level of needs changed and my father is unable to care for her at home anymore. We were accepted for the Fair Deal scheme in March but since then the HSE have started to charge my dad 660 a week for her care until a place comes up in our local Nursing Home. I am wondering if anyone has experienced this as another friend in a similiar situation said they had nothing to pay while her mum was in transition. I rang the local Health Centre and they said we have to pay it, where as here in the region where I live there seems to be no charge as she entered the Nursing Home with the intention of returning home. It is difficult to find legal information on this. My poor dad is devastated about mum and these bills are not helping his mental health. He is 85 and has always been a responsible citizen wanting to abide by the rules etc. If anyone has any information on this I would greatly appreciate it.

looksee

Hello Nellymu, you are welcome and in the right place to ask your question. Unfortunately I cannot help with that information, but there may be someone here who can. You might also consider asking in Citizens Advice (check out your local office).

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

nellymu

Hi Melendez,
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
Mum isn't in convalescence care or respite. Her pneumonia is no longer an issue either. She is being held in the rehab ward of the County Nursing Home where people normally go for physio after a fracture or to improve mobility etc. She is here because there is no place in the local nursing home and the only other NH that can take her is about 40 miles from dad which means he would not be able to see her too often. I think the term that is used is "transition" and my understanding was that if a person entered a Nursing Home with the intention they were going to stay, they may be charged this "transition" fee but if they came to a Nursing Home from a hospital they should not have to pay. I am presuming that she would fall into the second scenario as she deteriorated when in this rehab ward. It was decided there by the team that the level of care she would need would not be able to be provided for at home. One of the nurses has advised us to ignore the bills but we would prefer to deal with things in a more responsible way as dad doesn't need this extra stress of letters and demands arriving. We would be fine if he had to pay the Fair Deal agreed cost of 350 but 660 is way above his weekly pension.
I hope you can make sense of this as it is complicated hence the reason why it is difficult to find answers. we sent a letter of appeal to the HSE last week but cannot imagine it will change anything.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.