Arranging care in Wakefield
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council serves the city of Wakefield and the surrounding towns of Pontefract, Castleford, Normanton, Ossett and Horbury in Yorkshire and Humberside. As a metropolitan borough, it is a single tier authority, which means the council handles adult social care directly for the whole district rather than sharing responsibility with a county council.
For families starting out, the first step is to contact Wakefield Council's adult social care team to request a needs assessment. This is free, available to any adult who appears to need support, and looks at what someone can manage day to day and where help would make a difference. If the assessment shows eligible needs, a financial assessment follows to work out how much, if anything, the person needs to contribute towards their care. National thresholds apply, so people with savings and assets above the upper limit will usually be expected to fund their own care, while those below the lower limit may have most costs met by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.
Choice of care across the district
The local care market is sizeable, with 181 CQC registered care homes across Wakefield, Pontefract, Castleford and the smaller towns. That gives families a genuine choice between residential care homes for people who need help with daily living, nursing homes for those with more complex medical needs, and home care for anyone who wants to stay in their own property for as long as possible.
Paying for care
Funding can come from several places: council funded support after a financial assessment, NHS Continuing Healthcare for those with a primarily health based need, Attendance Allowance, deferred payment agreements secured against a property, or self funding. As a rough national guide, home care tends to average around 20 to 30 pounds per hour, residential care homes sit around 900 to 1,200 pounds per week, and nursing homes typically run from 1,100 to 1,500 pounds per week, with local Wakefield fees varying by provider and room type.
Taking things one step at a time, starting with that free assessment from Wakefield Council, usually makes the road ahead feel a lot clearer.
