Huge !0% increase to care home fees

JillMcG

Is anyone experiencing this daylight robbery? My husband has dementia and has been in care for 2.5 and in that time the fees have increased by 17.5%. On a big monthly bill that is HUGE. Are the care home fees regulated in any way. I tried writing to the FD last year but never received a response. I am now paying almost £70k a year!!!!  Can any one suggest how I get my voice heard. BTW, the care he receives is the basic and I am forever chasing them with different problems.

elsien

No, care home fees aren’t regulated. And I’m not surprised that they are going up, given what utility prices are like however yours seem to be at the  very top of the scale. 

Whereabout in the country are you, and is your husband in a nursing or residential home? At that fee level I would expect it to be specialist nursing nursing so have you looked at whether he has any nursing needs that might qualify him for health funding. It’s not easy to get full funding but certainly worth looking into. I’m presuming you’ve already checked that you’re getting everything you’re entitled to such as attendance allowance?

If the care is basic and you’re not happy with it,  there is always the option of looking for alternatives although moving him would be a big step? Do you have power of attorney for heath/welfare. 

Unfortunately self - funders tend to be used to subsidise local authority rates, anything up to 30% more,  and that’s common across care homes although it’s not fair. Another attempt to negotiate might be worth a try but certainly in my area there is a real shortage of beds so care homes are less worried about people moving out.

If you have issues with the quality of care  and you could also contact the Care Quality Commission. That won’t help you with your fees but it might mean they are keeping a bit more of an eye on the place if other people have also reported concerns.

Sea_Shell

I suppose they are exposed to the same inflationary pressures as everyone.   Energy, food etc.

Is 17.5% over two years just reflective of inflation?

Prism

It just inflation. Taking Decembers figures over the last two years prices have shot up between 15% and 21% depending on if you use CPIH or RPI as a measure 

dunstonh

My husband has dementia and has been in care for 2.5 and in that time the fees have increased by 17.5%.

That is not much of an increase when you consider the costs of dealing with Covid and inflation (in particular heating and electrical costs - businesses don't get capped the same way as residential).

I am now paying almost £70k a year!!!!

Unfortunately, 24 hour care and services is not cheap to provide.

BTW, the care he receives is the basic and I am forever chasing them with different problems.

As it is only basic care, have you considered bringing him back home and receiving care in the home?

Keep_pedalling

£70k per annum for self funding in a care home of your choice in  is not that unusually high if you want more than a basic room. I am not surprised at 17% increase over 2.5 years either care home have high energy and labour costs. Have you looked at alternative care homes? Not always easy to change though as a change of home can be very upsetting for the patient.

Marcon

JillMcG said:

Is anyone experiencing this daylight robbery? My husband has dementia and has been in care for 2.5 and in that time the fees have increased by 17.5%. On a big monthly bill that is HUGE. Are the care home fees regulated in any way. I tried writing to the FD last year but never received a response. I am now paying almost £70k a year!!!!  Can any one suggest how I get my voice heard. BTW, the care he receives is the basic and I am forever chasing them with different problems.

It's not daylight robbery, although I can fully understand why it must feel that way. The number of care homes which have gone out of business gives an unhappily accurate picture of just how expensive it is to run them, especially in times of inflation which is at its highest for some 40 years.

Getting your voice heard is best done by voting with your feet - but moving your husband elsewhere does, as others have already commented, mean disruption and probable distress for him, so that's something of a nuclear option.

Not getting a reply from the FD is annoying, but they will have been, and will continue to be, under enormous pressure. I'm not sure what you expect them to say, though, that hasn't already been said on this thread.

You say you are 'forever chasing them with different problems'. Are you being entirely realistic in terms of what they home can provide, especially given the myriad problems of the last 3 years? If so, does the home have a complaints procedure and have you followed it?

Clueless56

I'm afraid it's pretty much the rate my local Council pays for residential care home beds - more for specialist/nursing beds.  The home's energy bills must be astronomical because it has to pay commercial rates which aren't subsidised by the government as domestic bills are.  Additionally, there are increased PPE and other infection control costs as Covid hasn't gone away, the residents are in the vulnerable groups, and the prices of PPE went up but didn't come down much after the pandemic.  Then there are all the other costs that are subject to inflation - food, insurances, salaries to keep staff, agency staff to cover illness/holidays, etc etc so I think a 17% increase is proportionate and reasonable.  

I'm sorry to hear you also feel the care isn't as it should be.  The first thing you should do is discuss your concerns with the home.  If that doesn't achieve what you require, follow its complaints procedure - you will have been given a copy when your husband went in, but can request a copy if you can't find it.  If you are unhappy with the outcome, then you can contact the Local Authority Social Care Ombudsman (you have to have followed the home's complaints procedure first) and possibly the Care Quality Commission, which is the regulator for care providers.  

Clueless56

PS  What does 'FD' stand for?

elsien

I presumed financial director, but that was just a guess.

diystarter7

Hi OP

When did you write to the FD, how many times and did they confirm they had received the ltter or was it hand delivered etc? I ask becuse I'm sure there is a site where you can leave honest feedback that will help others decide on all aspects of a care home not just re their paying patient but the loved one/s that ensure the care home gets their fees, etc.

Sadly, with inflation rife and years of ultra-low inflation, everyone has got caught out

The 17.5% is high but IMO could have been and will be higher a lot higher come the next rise.

I had an uncle, he was in a private care home for close to 9 years with demental, he passed at  around 88 yrs of age.  This was about 4 years ago and towards the last couple the family was chipping in thousands as they did not want to move.

I don't know what else to say other than start considering alternative options. if there are any but it is not fair.