If you need to move into a residential or nursing care home (which is not run by the States) you may be able to receive long-term care benefit. Long-term care benefit is paid weekly and helps towards the cost of living in a private care home.
What are the different types of long-term care?
- There are three rates of long-term care benefit:
- Residential for people whose care needs are relatively low
- Elderly Mental Infirmity (EMI) for people who have extra care needs because of a health condition like dementia
- Nursing for people who need a more intensive level of care
Who can claim?
- You can claim long term care benefit if you meet the following conditions:
- At any time in your life you must have lived in Guernsey or Alderney for a continuous period of 5 years.
- You must have lived in Guernsey or Alderney for at least the last 12 months before making your claim.
- You must have been assessed as needing care in a residential or nursing home setting.
- You have a valid care certificate. This is issued by the Needs Assessment Panel which is part of the Committee for Health and Social Care.
- You have a room in a private residential or nursing home.
How do I claim?
- You will normally be helped to make a claim for long-term care benefit by your social worker or community nurse. But if you need any help please contact the Pensions & Allowances helpline on 221000.
- Before you can make a claim for long-term care benefit, the level of care you require needs to be assessed. This assessment will be carried out with you and your carer by a healthcare professional. The assessment will then be passed to the Needs Assessment Panel which is part of the Committee for Health & Social Care. The Needs Assessment Panel will decide on the type of care which is best suited to your needs.
- The Needs Assessment Panel will issue you with a certificate, called the NAP certificate. This confirms the level of care you need but doesn't guarantee a bed in a private residential or nursing home. You will need to find your own place in a care home that meets your needs. Your social worker or healthcare professional should be able to help you with this, as they may have a list of current vacancies.
How much will I get?
- In most cases, long-term care benefit will be paid directly to the care home. You will also need to pay your co-payment and any additional fees charged by the care home to them directly.
- The benefit you receive will depend on the level of your care needs, the care home you are living in and whether your care needs are permanent or temporary. You will also need to make a contribution towards the cost of the care home fees, this is known as a co-payment.
- The current benefit rates and co-payment amount is set out in the Benefit Payment and Contribution Rates leaflet (Leaflet 50), which is provided in the downloads section.
Where can I find further information?
- For more information please refer to the Long-Term Care Benefit - Leaflet LTC1 in the downloads section of this page. Alternatively, you can call the Pensions & Allowances helpdesk on 221000.
