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Charging information for community care services
A guide for service users
This information is for users of community care services, their
families and carers to refer to at any time and covers charges
for:
- care services provided to people in their own homes
(homecare);
- community meals;
- day care activities;
- major adaptations provided by the Occupational Therapy
Service.
Medway Council's Children and Adults Directorate also supports
people in residential and nursing homes, usually where they
are not able to support themselves financially. Information about
the charges and contributions for residential or nursing
care are also available on this website and more information is
available from organisations such as Age UK.
Customer Contact Officers - Financial Assessment are here
to help
Any financial information given to a Customer Contact
Officer will be treated as confidential. However, it may be
shared with other departments within Medway Council, such as
Housing Benefits, to ensure that service users are receiving the
correct level of benefit. Queries about contributions can be made
to a Customer Contact Officer - Financial Assessment, who will be
pleased to help. Any queries about care packages should be directed
to a care manager.
How the council assesses charges
Once someone has been assessed as requiring a community care
service, Medway Council's Children and Adults Directorate will
arrange the provision of that care. The service user will, however,
be assessed for a contribution towards the cost of the care.
The council makes a charge for most of the services it provides
and needs a contribution from service users to keep providing
services to as many people as possible. The level of each person's
contribution depends upon their ability to pay and will be
calculated in accordance with Medway Council’s Fairer Charging
policy.
There is no charge for an assessment of needs or any advice
given. There are weekly charges for some of the care that the
council arranges to help people to continue to live in their homes.
The charge is not only for the services the council provides itself
but also for those it pays other organisations to provide on its
behalf.
In addition to the weekly charges for these services, which are
based on the ability to pay, meals (either at day centres or delivered to
people in their own
homes) are charged separately.
Service users should always let their Customer Contact Officer-
Financial Assessment know of any change to their financial
circumstances, as this may affect the contribution they make
towards the cost of their care.
During the assessment of the contribution, the Customer Contact
Officer will:
- check that the service user is receiving all state benefits
they are entitled to and claim, on their behalf, any that they
should be receiving;
- advise them of the ways they can pay their charge;
- help them to use the complaints procedure for adult social care if
they are unhappy with any decision made by the Directorate.
Homecare charges
Homecare is the package of care services given to people in
their own homes. A homecare
charge (pdf 175KB) is worked out by a Customer
Contact Officers - Financial Assessment.
To use this file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not have it on your computer, please use our advice page.
The following rules and principles apply:
People with more than £23,250 in savings will be asked to pay
the maximum charge for homecare. This is 100 per cent of the actual
cost of the care package. However:
- they do not pay any VAT charges, which would be paid if they
arranged their own care packages;
- the £23,250 savings level does not include their partner's
savings or the value of their home.
People with less than £23,250 in savings will be asked to pay on
the basis of their assessed ability to pay.
- If they have savings of between £14,250 and £23,250, their
capital will attract a weekly tariff income of £1 for each £250
they have over £14,250.
For all service users:
- The council will not take into account £15.25 of any disability
benefit received, such as Attendance Allowance or Disability Living
Allowance.
- £23,250 is the savings figure from April 2010. The government
increases the upper capital limit in April each year.
Making payments
- Customer Contact Officers - Financial Assessment -
calculate the service user's contribution based on their individual
circumstances.
- Their Customer Contact Officer- Financial Assessment - advises
them how much their weekly charge will be.
- Many people pay their contribution by direct debit. This is the
most convenient and simple way to pay - a Customer Contact Officer
- Financial Assessment - can provide a form and further
details.
- Payment can also be made:
- at a bank;
- at a post office;
- by post to the address on the four-weekly invoice;
- by telephone with a debit/credit card;
- online from
this website.
Anyone who has trouble meeting their payments should contact
their Customer Contact Officer as soon as possible.
Charges for day care activities
Children and Adults Services provides a range of day care activities for many
different people across Medway and it also helps to support other
independent day care providers such as Age Concern.
- You will be financially assessed to see if you can make a
contribution to the day care that you receive.
- Meals at day care centres operated by Medway Council currently
cost £3.70 each.
Community meals
Community meals provided to people in their own homes are £3.70
per meal.
Charges for equipment and adaptations
The Occupational Therapy Service provides free advice
and occupational therapy support. There is no charge for small
items of equipment such as chair raisers or minor adaptations. The
service also helps people to undertake necessary major adaptations
to their home and in some circumstances can offer loans to pay for
the work. Repayments for these loans are calculated using similar
rules to those for for homecare charges.
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