ABSTRACT
This chapter provides guidelines for the non-professional carer and is intended to offer practical advice and ideas. Caring for a patient with a serious and prolonged illness can be costly for a person, the carer. He/She might have had to give up work or reduce the number of hours they work in order to provide the necessary care. The patient may be on a reduced salary or state benefit, which may be much less than their usual income. Added to this there is the cost of visits to hospital and expenses that may be unforeseen, such as having to heat the house 24 hours a day when the heating was previously turned off when the house was empty during the working day. The social worker will be able to advise the carer about benefits and welfare payments. Some are means tested, others are not and the regulations are subject to change.
