Rip-off care home fees!

albert100

Hi everyone,

Appreciate some help

My 80YO MIL is happily in a care home she likes

She has full care, and the fees are frankly a rip off as they are

(SE England: £1100 per week)

We have just heard that they intend to increase the fees by 16.4%!

In one year!

What on earth can be done about this, other than say very loudly that we will move her unless they comprehend that 16.4% when inflation is 0.5% is utterly unacceptable.

They said some bollox about higher staff costs - yes I'm really sure they gave their staff a 16% pay rise... the place is needless to say owned by those nice friendly PE types.

Because the problem is, she probably wouldn't want to move. Which of course these rip-off merchants count on.

Advice gratefully received!

Albert

le_loup

albert100 wrote: »

the place is needless to say owned by those nice friendly PE types.

What does this mean?

mumps

Recent cases requiring homes to pay sleep in staff NMW has increased staff costs for some homes. The new auto enrolment for pensions is another cost. CQC registration, costs of training. Sorry but it all adds up.

albert100

Originally Posted by albert1 the place is needless to say owned by those nice friendly PE types.
What does this mean?


private equity


Total costs are now £68k pa


I appreciate some costs have gone up - but by 16%?


It is a racket

greenglide

I had a letter today to say that my mother's fees are going up as well.

The new rate is £500 per week.

Moving out of the south east bubble is the obvious choice

[Deleted User]

Why is she in care? If for HEALTH reasons you need to battle the NHS for funding which the law says she is entitled to.

If she is in care for other reasons then that must be paid for but she should be fully assessed for her needs and her ability to pay.

She should be regularly assessed if her health changes in terms of eligibility for funding.

Please bear in mind that whatever her reason for being in care, if she is happy and settled that must be take priority and moving her should not be just because you feel it's too expensive.

You cannot put a price on good end of life care.

Mojisola

albert100 wrote: »

My 80YO MIL is happily in a care home she likes

She has full care, and the fees are frankly a rip off as they are

(SE England: £1100 per week)

We have just heard that they intend to increase the fees by 16.4%!

In one year!

What on earth can be done about this, other than say very loudly that we will move her unless they comprehend that 16.4% when inflation is 0.5% is utterly unacceptable.

This what some people are doing - £1k a month and regular holidays for family to visit -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25438325

mgdavid

albert100 wrote: »

.........Advice gratefully received!
Albert

look after her yourself...

albert100

Thanks All.


She is totally immobile


She lives about an hour away, near where she used to live and her network of friends. Moving her here would cause her grief.


Our home would not work for someone who cannot move on her own or get up any stairs.


Moving her to Thailand is interesting but not a goer either I fear.


Sorry for mouthing off but this is causing my family an immense amount of anxiety.

xylophone

I am acquainted with the resident of a privately owned care home in the South East whose fees will increase to well over £1,100 a week after an increase in April - however that increase was in the region of 5%.

I must say that an increase of 16.5% seems excessive.

She is in her nineties and can move around only with the assistance of at least one carer and a zimmer frame.

Her various medical needs are met by the district nurse service which is provided to the home.

look after her yourself...

A thoughtless response? - You have no idea of the personal circumstances of the resident or her relatives.

The relatives may still be working full time and their home quite unsuitable for her needs.

Moving out of the south east bubble is the obvious choice

The resident's relatives may have to remain in the south east for work etc so that visiting her would be much curtailed.

The only answer might be to find a less expensive home but in my area (where two existing care homes are about to close), finding any home might soon prove very difficult indeed.

mgdavid

xylophone wrote: »

........A thoughtless response? - You have no idea of the personal circumstances of the resident or her relatives.

The relatives may still be working full time and their home quite unsuitable for her needs............

not really; many forget (or are too young to know) it's what would have happened just a few decades ago, in the pre-care-home days; it was manage somehow within the home and within the family as the alternative was the NHS geriatric ward - which were often pretty awful. At least nowadays we have choices.

OP, as Deleted_User says, the nursing costs should be covered by the NHS - are you confident she is receiving all the benefits and allowances she's entitled to?