Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance because we’re feeling quite lost about what to do next.
My mother‑in‑law has MS, and her mobility and eyesight have deteriorated to the point where she can no longer safely live at home with my father‑in‑law, even with carers coming in. Moving in with me and my husband isn’t possible either — we have two young children and both work full time — so we’ve been advised to look into residential care.
She’s in her mid‑60s, and we didn’t expect to be facing this stage so yet. We have no idea where to start, what support is available, or how funding works for someone with MS. My husband and I can’t afford to cover the costs ourselves, and her savings would only stretch for a few months of care.
If anyone has experience with this or can point us in the right direction — funding options, assessments, who to speak to first — we’d be really grateful for any advice.
Hi @tessasmith1987 , from my experience of such things funding for care home or nursing home fees does get a bit complicated. My dad (RIP) went into a care home ( just because he felt that at 95 he would prefer it to staying at his own home). In his case he had quite a bit in savings and paid for it himself. For about a year before he went into the home he paid for some help at home - with carers coming to him for an hour or two each day.
I’m know that you can get help with funding but eligibility depends on how much the person has in savings.from what I remember the first port of call is to speak with your local,council who will do a personal needs assessment and ask about savings etc. I am thinking that things will be complicated by the fact that her husband is living in the home but that might actually help in calculating how much funding the Council will provide for your mother in law’s care home. You could also make some initial enquiries and ask for information from Citizens Advice or in particular from the MS Society help line.
A big thing to consider is whether your Mother in law needs a care home or nursing home. I don’t know the details of funding for Nursing Home fees other than my Aunt (RIP) who had MS went into a Nursing home when it became obvious that her needs were definitely medical/ nursing care rather than just help with daily care. In her case her fees were paid in full by the local NHS Board/Trust - cheaper and a better option to pay nursing home fee than having her in a hospital - and from what I know there was no reference to how much she had in savings etc.
Sorry I can’t be of more help but I guess that the first step is going to be a lot of research and contacting MS Society, Citizens Advice and your father in law’s local council