Older person care unsustainable as councils fail to make fair payments
- 23 Oct
Councils are failing to make ‘fair' payments to care home operators, making care for older people unsustainable and providers unable to invest in new capacity, according to new research.
The research - from healthcare market intelligence provider Laing & Buisson - found the rates councils will pay for care beds has failed to keep pace with inflation for the last three years.The research also found that even if the Dilnot Commission's recommendations on insuring against care costs were to be brought in, this funding would fail to cover even half the costs they are intended to finance.
Chief executive of Laing & Buisson, William Laing, said:
The 'care' element of costs - which would be insured by the state under the Dilnot recommendations - would in actual fact cover well under half of these new 'fair fees', stretching to around 33% for residential care and 45% for nursing care. This means that the majority of costs will still fall to individuals.
Whoever works out what the state will cover will also have to make a decision on whether it will cover just the bare care costs, or if it will add in a reasonable operator's mark up of around 10% in which to help create a sustainable care home economy and to encourage the capacity building which all research points towards a great need of.The Fair Price for Care toolkit shows that the average fee paid by most local authorities is £50 a week below the rate needed to provide an environment on the borderline of acceptability.
Source: Local Gov
Related articles
- 01 Sep
Older people need more male carers
Professor Martin Green has said that the government needs to do more to recruit males into front-line adult social care roles, reports the BBC.Prof Green has said that with the increasing number of...
- 25 Aug
Survey finds older people have better quality of life in retirement villages than care homes
Chief executive of Audley Retirement, Nick Sanderson, has said that demand for his form of extra-care housing was so strong he could not build homes fast enough, reports the Guardian.He said: “I...
- 12 Aug
Older people’s Commissioner disappointed by Welsh Government
Sarah Rochira, Wale’s Commissioner for older people has said she is “extremely disappointed” at the response from the Welsh Government to its call for action to protect residents in care homes,...
- 31 Jul
Charity warns of loneliness in older people
The Campaign to End Loneliness charity want a “range of support” for older people to help them fight loneliness, reports the BBC. The charity says that transport and technology are essential to...
- 27 Jul
New housing for older people promised
Members of Kensington and Chelsea’s cabinet have decided to create 150 new homes for older people on the site of a care home that closed down in 2014 due to Legionella, reports Get West...
- 22 Jul
New drug provides hope for older people with Parkinsons
Scientists have found that people taking glitazone pills were less likely to develop Parkinson’s than people taking other diabetes drugs. However, they have cautioned that the drugs could have...
- 15 Jul
Lack in dignity when caring for older people in hospital
In a poll from 2012 it has been found that poor care is most likely to be experienced by people over the age of 80, reports the BBC. Over a third of patients who need help at mealtimes did not...
- 09 Jul
New housing development for older people in Sunderland
A 16.3m housing and care scheme has been opened by the Leader of Sunderland Council, reports Sunderland Echo.The accommodation provides 158 two-bedroom apartments for older people and 17 one bed...
- 07 Jul
Social care cuts leaving older people stranded
Age UK is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to put an end to cuts to social care funding due to the increasing rate the older population is growing, reports the Yorkshire Post. Age UK has...
- 01 Jul
Charity wants priority for older people in housing
Erosh represents organisation providing housing and support to 120,000 older people and has written to new government ministers in opposition, reports Inside Housing.The letter calls on ministers to...
Responding to the DWP Consultation: Housing Benefit Reform - Supported Housing "I found the event informative and timely it helped me to complete our response to DWP without which I would have struggled." S.S. - Safe House
