Just out of interest, what are your elderly parents care home fees?

This is all terrifying and I am sure a previous taskforce from government recommended a self- insurance scheme for care homes costs. I would certainly pay £100 a month now to insure the risk (am 60, parents are 80) for them and for me. There's so much inequality in the current system - not only who pays and what is paid, but also where the fees are spent (ie not on staff salaries and benefits). FIL died peacefully at home just before his 90th birthday and was fit until he was dead ... It's the greatest gift he ever gave his family.

I used to do the accounts for 2 nursing homes and they both made tidy profits after nice salaries for the senior managers..

I honestly think 2 things need to happen- a ring fenced insurance scheme at 2% of salary after 40 , if not working then exempt at that point. Amount to be taken in any assets then limited to £80k and then insurance kicks in- thiszwoukd be for both care homes and care at home.,

also I think the gvt need to gradually buyout and renationalise the social care sector - take it out of local authority funding and make it all ‘not for profit’ - refurb any tatty ones..that way costs can be constantly assessed and controlled and all income generated to cover costs and go back into the unit. Same for care at home -

Everyone needs to be aware of this

Feels like care homes are a mechanism to extract the equity from the property bubble.
What would happen if there was some sort of crash/correction?

@lazymum99 I too have no idea how the care staff manage to do their jobs with so much patience and kindness. I cringe when I hear how DM speaks to them ( is dementia and she wouldn’t have been like that before) and the high fees don’t translate into high wages, certainly not for the on the ground carers.

ex in law’s cost £2500 a week 6 years ago as needed 1:1 24/7 (officially, when she slept I know they left her but she didn’t sleep normal hours) and 2:1 for certain times of the day. To those say it’s a lot - think about it, 168 hours a week at £15 an hour is £2520. Dsd’s package (working age adult) now is over £4K a week and doesn’t even include housing or food as that’s paid for out of uc, simply for 24/7 care, it’s what it costs

£2,500 per week dementia and nursing care. Immobile, minimal speech. North London. Been there for 4 years so far. But was cheaper at the beginning. Her needs increased and inflation etc.
But I have confidence in the care she is receiving. She seems happy and the staff are lovely. Not sure how the staff remain so lovely. I wouldn’t last 2 minutes in their jobs.

Not necessarily the tax payer. In our area of London the council will only pay for a nursing home if the person a) has no money and b) has dementia. Otherwise they suggest four carer’s visits a day.

You are VERY lucky. In our area it was incredibly difficult to find anywhere that had a place! All full.

Reading these posts make me realise how lucky my family are to have found an amazing nursing home for my DM. There is a nurse on each floor of 10 or 11 residents, a GP review every Wednesday, a few activities (my mum is rarely up to participating in them), the food is decent, if the residents don’t eat the main meals then sandwiches, fruit, yoghurt etc are constantly offered. The room is large and my DM’s has French doors to a small communal garden.
The staff ratio is excellent and they genuinely do seem to care about the residents. Family are welcome at any time, I always phone ahead but there’s no requirement to do so.
This was the eleventh home I viewed, some I didn’t like, some I liked but they were not suitable for my DM and others wouldn’t accept her because of complex needs.

I would have no issue with care home fees if they represented value for money. FFS, ours has gone to £6000 pcm and for that you get a crappy room that needs a paint, cheap laminate flooring, substandard food and limited "care". And that's one of the "good" ones.
I looked at yesterday's menu and it was sandwiches for lunch and then fish (MIL hates) or broccoli pasta for tea. Which 91 year olds would eat broccoli pasta? where is the protein?? (cheese likely but come on). She is frail by the way.

😭😭😭

The tax payer if no money or you sell your house and its funded like that. I had both parents in self funded care homes. Dad's was £8k per month 3 years go in West London. Anyone being funded by council will not be paying £8k per month. The self funders are covering the shortfall.

Also,many of the residents are very very needy. There was one women next to Dad who just used the buzzer all day and night when not asleep. The carer would leave the room and just as she was going the buzzer would be pressed again. People wandering around trying to get into each other's bed. Stealing from other residents, never leave anything valuable - it will go missing.

1500 per week/£6000 pcm north west (self funded till she runs out I guess)
various services not included in that cost

So they have two 'packages'. Residential care where you drop folks off and they're taken care of at the facility for £1,558 per week or they offer a live in care service so if someone wants to stay at home a carer will live and care for the person £1,800 per week 7 days a week for two weeks minimum.

This is my experience. I’m looking at homes in the Midlands and have seen between £1,100 and £1,800 per week. I still have to start visiting.

This is worth reading. The current system is shocking.

.https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/28/the-great-care-home-cash-grab-how-private-equity-turned-vulnerable-elderly-people-into-human-atms?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

My friend works in a care home and some people pay £8000 PER WEEK!!
it’s a specialist home and some people have 1-1 carers,
it’s an absolute shit hole and I wouldn’t even put my dog there!!

Apologies but don’t understand your post. Does the care home provide live in carers at the home if you wish not to go into a care home?

Can you please pm the name of the home and where in the South East it is please?

£8,640. Pm in Surrey. Includes nursing care, fees went up 1st April 2026. Only people who benefit are management and the greedy fat cats

FIL has just been moved from one costing £1600 a week to one costing £1200 a week. Big difference in cost but very similar homes. Midlands.

£1331 per week. We paid for 2.5 years before dad was moved to end of life care and was fiven fast tracked CHC.

You can buy an annuity insurance plan whereby you hand over a (probably quite large) lump sum out of the savings/estate pot to an insurance company who will cover the care costs for ever, so the funds will never run out. The cost is determined by the individual’s age, health etc so an actuary calculates life expectancy. It’s something we’re looking into, having been advised that it is almost always worth doing. The risk is that the cost of the premium proves more than was necessary if your loved one dies sooner than expected, but the considerable benefit is that the cost of their care is covered for life and the rest of their estate stays intact, ensuring their heirs are guaranteed to receive their inheritance.