Care homes and sheltered housing

Care homes

If you are not able to look after yourself in your own home, we will firstly try to provide you with support at home. If this support is not effective, you might like to consider moving to a Care Home.

You can also stay at a care home for a short while if you are recovering from an injury or illness, or to give your carer a break.

Please contact our Access Team on 01702 215008 option 5, then option 1 to ask for an assessment of your needs, or make a referral online.

Following an assessment, we can help you to choose somewhere that meets your needs and where you think you will feel at home.

Will you have to pay for care?

• if you qualify for social care, we will carry out a financial assessment to see whether you have enough money to pay some or all of the cost
• the amount we ask you to pay will depend on any income and savings that you have, and the types of benefits you may receive. This may include the value of any property that you own if you are considering residential care. If you have to pay for your own care, this is known as self-funding or privately funding

Self-funding

• if you have to pay for your own care, we would strongly recommend that you seek financial advice from a Specialist Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) to discuss the care funding options available
• we can also check to see if you qualify for Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payments (formerly Disability Living Allowance). These do not take your income or savings into account

If you do not want a financial assessment

If you choose not to have a financial assessment, you will have to pay for your own care. Therefore, if you have savings below the threshold (£23,250) we encourage you to complete the financial form as you may be eligible for financial support.

Choosing your care home

• please use the CQC website to search for Southend-on-Sea City Council registered care homes
• the Livewell website has further advice on care homes and how to find a Financial Advisor to give advice on funding your own care

CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and they encourage care services to improve.

They monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure homes meet the fundamental standards of quality and safety and they publish what they find, including performance ratings to help people choose care. To view CQC ratings and information about our registered care homes please see the CQC website.

Applying for sheltered housing

If you are over the age of 60 and you are a resident of Southend-on-Sea, you may be eligible for Sheltered Housing.

Consideration is given to:

• lower age people with specific support or medical need
• elderly owner occupiers
• former residents of Southend City

You can contact the Housing Options team at Southend-on-Sea City Council.