Queen’s House Fees & Terms of Acceptance

Private Placements

The weekly fee for all private care is currently £1,600.00 (reviewed every April).

Any care allowance awarded by the local authority will reduce this amount accordingly. However, please note that fees will initially be charged in full until notification from the local authority is received to confirm an allowance has been awarded. At this point, any refund will be applied. To arrange this, please reach out to your local authority social work team who will complete the relevant assessments. Please remember to follow this up as we are unable to request this on your behalf.

Fees will be invoiced in advance. Billing is on a fixed 4 week cycle therefore the first advance payment will cover from the agreed accommodation commencement date until the next scheduled 4 weekly invoicing date. Thereafter, invoices will be issued every 4 weeks. Accommodation fees normally commence when a prospective resident agrees to take up a placement. Please note that, when a resident vacates a room, the final invoice will include a charge for an additional 5 days after the date the room was vacated. This is to cover time taken to remove any belongings and to prepare the room for the next client. Any overpayments will also be taken into account at this point.

Residents entering the home on a private contract (Residential or Nursing) do so on the understanding that they will have sufficient finances to pay the fees for a minimum of 2 and a half years from the date the contract commenced. Additionally, private residents subsequently transferring to a Social Work contract, who are in the process of selling property, will be responsible for refunding QME Care the resulting cost difference between the private and Social Work fees on sale of the property.

Social Work Placements

One of the major aims of QME Care is to provide an inclusive service to the Scottish Borders and, as such, make a specific number of fully Social Work Funded places available to Scottish Borders Council. However, QME Care do not control the allocation of these places as referrals are at the discretion of Scottish Borders Council.

All Placements

QME Care can arrange extra goods and services in addition to those covered by the fees for care and accommodation.  These include, hairdressing, newspapers and, in the absence of free provision by the NHS, for podiatry, opticians, dentistry, physiotherapy and transportation and staff escorts to and from medical appointments.  Most of these services are provided by outside sources and residents shall be responsible for the payment of these goods and services.  We shall advise you where possible of their cost beforehand.

Please also refer to the following details to be considered when a place is offered:

1. Legal/Statutory

• NI Number – Please note that we require details of a new resident’s NI number. This is used for a number of purposes, e.g., when registering with a medical practice or arranging TV licence.
• Power of Attorney – If a Power of Attorney is appointed, we require a copy of the full Power of Attorney documents.
• Living Will – If a Living Will is in place, please provide a copy of this for our records.

2. Pre-Admission

• Furniture, etc. – Please consider what (if any) items are to be brought into the home and let us know in advance to ensure the items can be accommodated. This could include items of furniture, pictures, etc. Our maintenance person can hang any pictures as required. Please liaise with us regarding access to delivery any items of furniture, etc.
• Television – We do not provide television sets (apart from in the sitting rooms). However, there are television points in all rooms. Please let us know if a television is to be provided, especially if it is to be wall mounted.
• Telephones – There are telephone points in all rooms. However, the provision of any telephone line will need to be made directly with a service supplier, e.g., BT. Please let us know if a line is being arranged so that we can update our records once a telephone number has been assigned.
• WiFi/broadband – Please note that there is WiFi/broadband access from all areas of the home – details are available from the office.
• Laundry – In order to identify clothing, please ensure that all items are identified by labels, etc. Our laundry can undertake some labelling but if items are not identified when a new resident is admitted, it is very difficult to ensure that clothing is returned promptly to the correct person.
• Newspapers – Many residents wish to have newspapers delivered to the home. Newspapers can either be arranged by ourselves or directly by a relative/friend. Please let us know about this. The normal suppliers in Kelso are Brown’s or RS McColl’s.
• Preferences – Please ensure that you identify any specific preferences or wishes so that we can meet these where practicable.
• Contacts – Please ensure that we have all relevant contact details for family, friends, etc., that we may need to get in touch with.
• Admission – Please ensure that an admission date/time is agreed with us. Admissions are normally Monday to Friday, avoiding mealtimes and staff handover times. This means that residents are generally admitted 10:30am – 12pm or 3pm – 4:30pm.