Considering applying but have a few questions

greenhorn22

Hi. I have trawled through the various information sites and here as I feel I will have to go down this route. Not looking forward to it from reading some of the problems people faced here dealing with our Government.
My situation is my wife is working. I am unemployed.
My Mother is now 89 years old and living alone. She is a very independent women but age is catching up with her and is getting very feeble. She is still somewhat active as in I bring her shopping and to Mass etc, but has had a few falls recently which has got me worried. Thankfully she didnt hurt herself. She gets dizzy spells caused by tendinitis and is blind in one eye.

I set up a panic button which goes directly to me and I live 5 minutes away. The duties at the moment I would have to do would not be whole lot. Shopping, Light the fire, cook a little, clean but mainly it would be to keep an eye on her. My main question though is how dependent does my Mother need to be to qualify for carers. As I said she is 89 and the situation is not going to improve.
sry for the long post but I am new to this.

njs030

To qualify for carers allowance the persons doctor has to fill in a form saying their patient is sick enough need constant care. Do you think her doctor will say that?

Also it's means tested so if your wife is working you won't get the full amount.

greenhorn22

notjustsweet wrote: »

To qualify for carers allowance the persons doctor has to fill in a form saying their patient is sick enough need constant care. Do you think her doctor will say that?

Also it's means tested so if your wife is working you won't get the full amount.

Thats kinda my point though. What is sick enough. As regards the means test. I think anything under 665 a week is exempt.

njs030

greenhorn22 wrote: »

Thats kinda my point though. What is sick enough. As regards the means test. I think anything under 665 a week is exempt.

Well it doesn't sound like she needs a carer, shopping and a bit of housework doesn't usually count as enough.
It means someone who needs full-time care ajd attention with things like washing, dressing and feeding or supervision.

From citizens advice.
The person receiving care is regarded as requiring full-time care and attention where

He or she is so incapacitated as to require continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself or continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions, and
He or she is so incapacitated as to be likely to require full-time care and attention for a period of at least 12 months.

greenhorn22

notjustsweet wrote: »

Well it doesn't sound like she needs a carer, shopping and a bit of housework doesn't usually count as enough.
It means someone who needs full-time care ajd attention with things like washing, dressing and feeding or supervision.

From citizens advice.
The person receiving care is regarded as requiring full-time care and attention where

He or she is so incapacitated as to require continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself or continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions, and
He or she is so incapacitated as to be likely to require full-time care and attention for a period of at least 12 months.

Yeah I read that already. I suppose the continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself is the main reason and helping with daily tasks to a lesser extent.
tks for your response. I am here to try and make an informed decision on whether to apply or not and as this is probably a borderline case. The more feedback I get the better.

njs030

greenhorn22 wrote: »

Yeah I read that already. I suppose the continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself is the main reason and helping with daily tasks to a lesser extent.
tks for your response. I am here to try and make an informed decision on whether to apply or not and as this is probably a borderline case. The more feedback I get the better.

Personally I would apply, the worst that can happen is they say no! Just make sure the doctor is aware of how much work you do and how much help and support your mother needs so he/she can fill in the form correctly.