What if I can’t yet go home?
If it looks like you are going to go on needing a lot of care and support, you should be assessed by your local council social services department to find out exactly what your care needs are. You may then be offered services, such as home help or meals on wheels, which will help you to manage at home.
It might also be suggested that moving house could make it easier for you to cope – perhaps a move into sheltered housing, or to a smaller, more manageable house. More information on housing choices is given in our free advice leaflet, Housing Options.
But for some people the result of the community care assessment may be different. After discussion with medical and nursing staff, one of the following options might be suggested.
Continuing NHS healthcare (England, Scotland and Wales)
It could be decided that you need to stay in hospital, or need care provided by the NHS in another setting such as a care home, hospice or even your own home. There will probably be quite complex medical reasons behind this decision, often to do with the type or intensity of your health care needs and a need for regular supervision from NHS staff. National eligibility criteria for continuing NHS health care were introduced in October 2007. These criteria look at eleven different ‘care domains’: for example, behaviour, continence and mobility, and, depending on the level of care needed in each of these areas, fully-funded care may be awarded. Ask the hospital for a written explanation of these rules. If it is decided that you need this sort of continuing NHS health care it will be arranged and paid for by the NHS.
Extra time for recovery
It is important that you don't return home until you are really able to manage. The hospital does not want to have to admit you again because things don’t work out when you get home. So, in some situations, it could be decided that you need either more time to recover fully or a spell of rehabilitation: that is, extra help and attention to help you get back to normal.
National eligibility criteria for continuing NHS health care was introduced on 1 October 2007. Ask the hospital for a written explanation of these rules. If it is decided that you need this sort of continuing NHS health care it will be arranged and paid for by the NHS.
In some parts of the country you may be offered intermediate care – a type of ‘rehabilitation and recovery’ service that is intended to help you recover your independence and get back to living at home. Intermediate care is fairly short-term – it won’t last longer than six weeks and it may be provided in a hospital or care home, or in your own home. If the NHS provides your intermediate care it will be paid for by the NHS.
Care in a care home
After your community care assessment, it may be suggested that you will not be able to manage at home, even with a lot of help and support from social services. However, your consultant may say that you are medically fit enough to be discharged and that you no longer need hospital care. You may therefore be offered the option of moving into a care home. The following section looks at what should happen if it is suggested that your needs can be best met by a move into a care home.
