Kate Garroway-Care at home costs

I understand that, but did he consent to his double incontinence, with all that entails, being known to all and sundry?

Germanshepherdsmum

I know he originally gave his consent, but he deteriorated to the point where that was not possible. Giving consent once does not necessarily equate to giving irrevocable continuing consent. He is unlikely to have known how his condition would progress as little is known about the long term effects of covid.

Was being told of his double incontinence necessary?

Yes it was, incontinence is one of the things which breaks most carers and their loved ones end up in a care home because the carer can't cope. We need to bring more awareness so the government & local councils become much more aware of the strain this has on the carers. More training, support and education on this is required and of the availability of free pads and other equipment. Carers need to know where they can turn to for help and support when their caring role reaches this stage. People often feel ashamed to discuss this issue, and often try to pretend this is not. happening. The more awareness the better.

On, not in

A newspaper has reported that her second London home, worth less than her main residence, is valued at £1.8 million. Could she have let it or raised money in it?

I agree icanhandthemback

I totally agree, icanhandthemback.

SallyatBaytree

The whole care system must be reviewed..an example I know of:
My aunt was in residential home for years, and had to fund herself as she' did not have nursing care needs'. Even though she couldn't get out of bed or bath without z hoist, and at times needed feeding ,toileting etc. She was deaf and at times very confused. She used all her assets in fees .
On the other side, friend's mother is eligible for paid for [ by state] in a top of range care home , like a hotel because she was MHA,sectioned aged 17 . She has been stable and mentally well for 60+ years, and the family are millionaires!! I believe that because she was sectioned once she falls under Section 117 of MHAct which means she is funded ongoing.

You beleive right ....not all sections of MHA...but definitely section 3 which is what many many people were under

MissAdventure

People on here are always quick to point out that money doesn't soften the impact of personal loss, pain, illness and worries.

That is because it doesn't. The emotional strain is certainly not relieved, nor the amount of organising you have to do to get and keep carers ( you then become an employer with all the duties that entails) along with all the caring you have to do as well because it is rare for anybody to have full 24 hour care by enough carers.
Kate Garraway may have had more money to assist her but she can still champion carers. If she found it hard with all her money, how hard must it be for the average person? From experience, it is a nightmare and the system is broken.

In 35 years of working in the NHS (Learning Disabilities ) I never saw joint working across services work. Everyone protects their budgets. We did work well with Social Services collaboratively, respecting each others skills, roles and responsibilities

People on here are always quick to point out that money doesn't soften the impact of personal loss, pain, illness and worries.

Sad though it is for Kate G I really don’t think that we the tax payers can afford to fund care at home at this level.
I know she is in debt but I have heard that she owns a second home worth 1.8 million. Selling this should give her less worry re debt.

MadeInYorkshire no words

Lambchop11

I’m confused so maybe after watching tonight will be more clear. I believed if you needed care at home or a care home placement it was means tested ? You would only pay £1600 a month if you had huge savings?

This a big bug bear of mine, and following on from my experience I got an article written in The Guardian last year about it - I badgered Dr Frances Ryan for months!

www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/28/tax-on-disability-rising-uk-social-care-costs-debt?fbclid=IwAR0fRUQDmarU8roHaq_S19eu3xjOU1yFg62xSY7hK0jghhoki98xax0abXU

Some 60,000 people in 2022 were taken to court by Local Authorities, most of these will have been solely living off benefits, and anyone on purely a benefit income cannot afford to pay these fees. At one point in 2021 when I first started to receive care, the LA send me an invoice for £200 a week, for a 30 minute daily care call. Had I paid that, I would have had a monthly deficit of around £400 a month having paid my bills and eaten. It took me 6 months to sort out. What the LA's omit generally is that you can offset these charges by what is called Disability Related Expenditure (anything that you need to pay for that is related to your disability or something that you are unable to do for yourself because of your disability, ie cleaning) Some LA's are putting a blanket amount down for DRE, but that is against the Care Act Guidelines, and charging for care is actually discretionary, although there is only one authority in England that doesn't charge, Hammersmith and Fulham. LA's are also required to treat everyone as an individual, and should not be charging people money that they can afford, but they don't tell you any of that! As a result, people are refusing care because they cannot afford it, and as a result will be dying before their time, and others are in massive debt. You can't even say you will have care every other day etc as the charge is still the same!

There is also supposed to be a 'choice' as to where you would like to be cared for. However, because the LA's are struggling to find enough Social Care providers as it is a poorly recognised job, they are forcing people into care homes against their wishes, and suggesting that care homes will be better, when in many cases they are not.

CHC funding is very hard to get, but possibly easier for children? I am eligible according to the 'checklist' but have no possible hope of getting it currently, & it isn't worth the stress of fighting; but nowhere is there written down a definitive criteria, that is determined by a panel of NHS members who of course refuse it where possible.

Another article I found was from 2021, but nothing has been done and no party has said anything about how they are going to address the issue of social care. It would be sensible to address the whole scenario from the bottom up, as if they could sort social care, there would be less bed blocking in hospitals, .A&E would be able to admit to the wards, A&E would then have more space, to treat patients, ambulances would be able to off-load into A&E and go off to more calls ...

www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/08/english-councils-huge-extra-care-bills-disabled-mentally-ill-adults

If KG can't dredge up that money, what hope for the likes of a lot of us?

Louella12

It's almost 500 thousand got breakfast TV.

She's also a DJ, has written 3 books, done 3 documentaries and numerous interviews.

I was somewhat surprised to learn that she actually has 2 houses in London. Derek's old home and the one they live in now.

Worth approximately 4 million

I'm surprised it's anyone's business.

I admire Kate for everything she done for Derek. She done it out of love and this came through.
If Kate can bring what is happening to carers to the attention of the goverment, she has my support.

Even though Kate Garraway had carers going in, I think I read that she did the nights herself. In addition she would have to arrange for GP, nurse, chiropodist etc appointments, order prescriptions, deal with all form filling, paperwork etc. she has to co ordinate everything which is very time consuming. She might have to sort out carers wages etc, time off and so on.

It's almost 500 thousand got breakfast TV.

She's also a DJ, has written 3 books, done 3 documentaries and numerous interviews.

I was somewhat surprised to learn that she actually has 2 houses in London. Derek's old home and the one they live in now.

Worth approximately 4 million

Barbadosbelle

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What is the "massive' salary you state she earns?

(I don't know at what figure one's salary becomes 'massive'!)

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Over £500k pa allegedly. And of course there will be personal appearances, her programmes about her husband and book on top of that.

I think KG’s lifestyle is very relevant OldFrill. She may not have been paid for what caring she did, but her reality is a world apart from the existence of some of our own posters who are at their wits’ end, desperately poor and totally exhausted. She has a glamorous career to which she can escape rather than having to stay at home all day, every day, to care for a sick person. I don’t see her as a champion for the vast majority of unpaid carers because of her profile and privileged life, despite her debts. We need to see the reality of the lives of ordinary unpaid carers, if you can call them lives. And let’s not forget how many unpaid carers are children sacrificing so much of their education, young lives and opportunities to care for a sick or disabled parent.

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What is the "massive' salary you state she earns?

(I don't know at what figure one's salary becomes 'massive'!)

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High profile campaigners are not something I would wish for particularly, the complexities of te issues tend to be lost. If you mean esther rantzen I think in terms of assisted dying she has absolutely no idea of the impact her campaign could have on those with learning disabilities for example.

ferry23

I have every sympathy for the family in their grief and for her late husband having to endure a very gruelling illness and the ensuing effects. However, I admit to struggling to understand how Kate Garroway sees herself as a self-appointed champion of unpaid carers - given she's never been one herself. Paying qualified people to care for a loved one while retaining a very well paid job, frequently attending showbiz events in expensive clothes and being surrounded by a network of wealthy and influential people is about as far removed from the life of an unpaid carer as you could possible get. Yes, to some degree I'm playing Devil's Advocate here, but I am genuinely baffled as to how she could possibly understand what it's like to be real, unpaid carer.

KG wasn't paid for caring, hence she was an unpaid carer, her lifestyle is entirely irrelevant. Many, many unpaid carers get help from professional carers (self or state funded), family, friends.
Unpaid carers need a high profile champion, l can't think of any better than KG given Ester will die soon.

It is sad that a richer country like ours can't afford to help everyone. Surely if we insist that people in Kate's position should pay for it themselves or not take them out of hospital because it's cheaper then the same should be said for everyone who needs care from outside the home, e.g mental health problems, learning difficulties. We are a civilised country and care in the community is the way things are these days. I don't know what the answer is but none of this can be done without funding, higher taxes? There is always a cost to everything.

Think I’ve not made myself clear. I wasn’t aiming my “cold” statement at you in any way Annsixty

People who have themselves been through all this for years are not cold ,hard hearted, just saying it as it is.