How to Get Affordable Care for Your Elderly Relative

When your relative, be it a grandparent, parent, auntie or uncle, finds it increasingly difficult to look after themselves in their old age, it can be stressful for a number of reasons. You always want your relatives to be safe and happy, but the need for help with their daily routine can be costly, even more so if they need round-the-clock care.

However, you may not have to pay as much as you think. Here are some factors to consider to keep the cost of care for your loved one as low as possible and take one element of stress out of the situation. 

Assess Need

Your relative might be encountering a number of problems around the home or when they are out and about. They may be having problems in connection to a medical complaint which is not as severe as you think. Consult a doctor and ensure they are getting all the medication and medical help they need to treat their condition or at least control it.

If you still think they are not safe to live unassisted you will need to consider the level of care which is needed. That could be a relative regularly visiting, a professional carer or care service, or a move to sheltered accommodation or perhaps a care home. 

Consider Care at Home

This option allows your loved one to maintain a degree of independence while staying in their own home while providing supervision, companionship and help with a variety of tasks. Services like Extra Care at Home offer assistance with the morning routine, errands such as shopping and cleaning around the home. Care at Home can be a lower priced alternative to a move to a nursing home and be a lot more convenient for everyone involved. 

Government Benefits

If, having assessed the situation, it is clear your elderly relative is in need of care you should find out what level of financial help they are entitled to. If someone’s capital and income (comprising of savings plus interest being made, pension, benefits, investments and any property) is below £23,250 they should be entitled to a financial helping hand from their local authority. If a person’s capital is below £14,250 they will be entitled to maximum support (save for their own contribution minus £23.90 allowance for personal expenses). 

Alternatives to Care

After looking carefully at the situation and going through some of the steps above, you may feel that it is not necessary to go for paid for care options. Organising a system in which relatives and friends regularly visit and run some errands for the relative may be sufficient care for the time being. You may also want to consider making adjustments to their home to make it more accessible and elderly friendly. You may even be entitled to a government grant to help with the works.