FAQ’s

The cost of care can vary a great deal and depends on several factors, including the type of support you need and the location of your care home.

What influences the cost of care?

• Whether you are receiving permanent or temporary care
• Whether the home is run by the local authority or an independent provider
• Your county or region, for example, the personal care you receive in a care home in Scotland is free if you’re over 65
• Individual care home fees

The first step is for your local authority to assess your care needs. They will create a report about your needs and the type of care that would best suit you.

When determining whether you qualify for state funding and the amount you may be entitled to, the local authority financial assessment (otherwise known as the “means test”) will look at:

Your regular income, including:

• Pensions
• Benefits
• Earnings

Your capital, including:

• Cash savings
• Investments
• Business assets
• Land
• Property (your home will not be included if your partner still lives there).

Your local authority will only look at your income (including pensions and savings). They will not consider the income of members of your family.

We recommend contacting the social services department of your local authority to find out whether you’re eligible for funding and for the capital limits, as these can vary from region to region.

If you have jointly held capital, you and the other joint owners are treated as having equal interests.

There is an exception for jointly owned property, which is calculated in terms of the present sale value as the part you own could be sold with the proceeds going to you.

If you have a joint bank or building society account with your partner, you will be assessed as having half of the balance of the account.

Benefits and credits are disregarded, such as the State Pension and Attendance Allowance. Disability Living Allowance is also disregarded, as are War Widows’ special payments. The value of any personal possessions is excluded as long as they were not bought with the intention of avoiding residential care charges.

If your partner still lives in your home then the property won’t be included in your means test.

If you live alone in the property, it will be considered as part of your total capital assets and is likely to put you over the threshold for support.

While many people who move into full-time residential care do sell their homes, it’s important to consider all the options (for example, renting out your home) and to speak to an independent financial advisor.

Some people deliberately give away assets or income to put themselves in a better position to obtain local authority help with care fees. However, if the assessor believes there has been deliberate deprivation of assets, they may still factor the assets into the assessment.

Respite and short stays have a premium added to the cost due to the shorter nature of the stay. However, these residents benefit from the same Aria Care lifestyle that our permanent residents do.

If you are funding your own full-time residential care and your capital is falling towards the upper capital limit, ask your local authority for an assessment of your care needs as you may be eligible for funding. This can take some time to arrange, so be sure to discuss it with your care home and the local authority well in advance of your capital falling below the upper limit.

The Care Quality Commission for England (CQC), Care Inspectorate for Scotland, and the Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) are responsible for regulating care services in the UK. Jersey has a Registration & Inspection department to regulate care too.

These bodies will carry out unannounced visits of the home and rate the service they provide. All of our care homes display their current rating on their webpages to help you understand the care on offer.

Each of our homes benefit from double rooms that can accommodate couples, close friends or relatives that wish to share, or single residents searching for a bit of extra space.

Most pets are welcome to visit for the day by arrangement with the Home Manager.

All of our homes have an outdoor area for residents to enjoy the outdoors. This could be a terrace or landscaped garden, even woodland in the grounds for residents to relax in, the Home Manager will be glad to show you this space during your tour of the home.

Many bedrooms also offer a private ground floor terrace or upper floor balcony. Homes offering specialist dementia care also benefit from secure outdoor areas so residents can spend time outside in safety. A private minibus is also available to take residents out on day trips away from the home.

At Aria Care we pride ourselves on delivering a relaxed, comfortable lifestyle to every one of our residents.

Each Aria Care care home has a dedicated chef to prepare fresh meals and offer a nutritionally-balanced diet that is tailored to each of our residents’ needs. Menus offer a variety of healthy foods for residents to enjoy, as well as home-made cakes for afternoon tea time.

Yes, we do and there is no tray charge for this service. Friends and family can join whenever you wish.

All members of our care teams are given the training and support needed to help them provide the highest standards of care.

In homes that offer dementia care, specialist dementia care training is provided to ensure our staff are equipped with the knowledge and compassion to care for people living with dementia.

All of our Care Home Managers are chosen for the role because of their professional qualifications and care experience, and they are dedicated to providing the highest level of service to every resident in their home.