Care home fees. Why does it cost £1000+ per week?

[flashbac]

Why does it cost so much and how much money is being made?

They do vary quite a lot in terms of what they offer. When we were looking around for my father, we saw some that were blatantly in it for the money and seemed to have little interest in the residents. One on the face of it, which was part of a large care home group, had nice modern buildings, large grounds for people to walk in etc but the room offered was a small, dark depressing room with a bathroom shared with 6 others. When we went in there was an awful smell - we accepted that accidents happen, but what was odd was that no-one commented on it, it was obviously so commonplace to them. They seemed to have little interest in things like activities for the residents.

The one we settled on was in a much older building but my father had a large, bright room with its own adapted bathroom. The home had lots of activities going on and, until Covid, regularly took the residents on visits out or just to sit in their own gardens. When we visited we regularly came across him chatting happily to the staff, and he always said they were lovely - and he was a person who would definitely have complained if that were not the case! And, although it was over £1K a week, it was cheaper than many.

No idea paid little more then minimum wage as a carer

It costs so much because the care home owners want to maximise their profits. They do this by charging as much as they can whilst paying as little as possible to staff and care costs.

It's just a business, people like to imagine the care home owners are doing it for the benefit of the inmates, but it's all about making as much money as possible. There's a captive market, an ageing population, so more money means the ability to expand the business and then make even more.

"Only" £1k? That's very good.

As others have said, price up a hotel stay for comparison, and that's without any care needs added in. Let alone specialist requirements such as dementia eta where you may need 2:1 or 3:1 care, round the clock, so that will be 3 shifts, so potentially 9 people to look after 1 resident. The maths starts to add up...

Then you have the lack of staff available, so you are using agency (which costs more again).

Profit at the moment after Covid is running about 5%, smaller homes are going bust regularly leaving the market for the larger homes to scoop up the beds. Councils do not have the money to pay 'proper' market rates so self payers subsidise council funded residents. Many new care homes are being built just for self funders - these are the nice shiny ones with hairdressers and cinemas on site. These don't want council funded residents as the money just isn't there from the Council to pay these rates - they want the naice middle class people who have an expensive house to sell who are able to afford the rates.

And the costs will only go up each year, as min wage goes up; this is a huge issue for councils in how they fund these residents, it's not possible to make any savings in the procurement of these beds, all you can do is mitigate any increases.

Be aware that a lot of care home owners make an absolute fortune. Think fleets of sports cars etc. Often own multiple care homes where they pay their overworked staff pittance and offer substandard care to the residents. Won't reveal my line of work but I have very little love for most care home owners.

Hotel staff aren't paid more than minimum wage either and you need a lot more of them and there's a lot more regulation in runnign a care home, plus less add ons for e.g. food and drink

Presumably the £1000 per week is including food and laundry? Full board in a not particularly expensive hotel will cost you that.

I have a friend whose father is in a care home in Asia. Instead of the ratio of care staff to resident being so painfully short staffed the most interaction humans get in the UK care homes is during personal care, this care home is tripping over themselves with care staff and residents are treated like a customer at very expensive hotel.
Her step mum used to fly out for a few months at a time and they'd have such a great time she moved out there.
Huge difference and better value for money. Food amazing etc.

It seems like crazy money but with 24 hour care from carer's, accommodation, meals, costs of nurses staff, it adds up.
Probably cost €10,000 for euthanasia, that is where my money will be spent.

I'd imagine the insurance is very high too. I worked in a private medical transport company, residents fell often and would need to be transported to hospital.

@EmeraldShamrock

It seems like crazy money but with 24 hour care from carer's, accommodation, meals, costs of nurses staff, it adds up. Probably cost €10,000 for euthanasia, that is where my money will be spent.

Me too. It's just a shame you have to go to Switzerland to have this as an option :(

@Samcro

how much do you think it should cost?~ 24/7 care.

Well care homes in my LA charge £501 to the local authority. Some homes ONLY take LA funded clients (so no subsiding) and other charge £501 whether private funded or LA. So it doesn't need to cost £1000 per week.

Increased costs tend to get you better surroundings, not better care.

Nursing Vs care home is immaterial as the NHS pays the nursing element - you can't go in to a nursing home unless the funded nursing team of your CCG agree you need it, whether you are paying privately or not.

And in my LA workers in £1000+ care homes and workers in £500 care homes get paid the same and have the same client to carer ratio.

I go in to lots of care homes, it's literally my job!

Labour costs and living costs in Asia are a fraction of costs here. Also, nobody needs heating. Caring jobs are valued and respected.
Culturally though, they are even more determined to keep elderly people alive at all costs. The concept of DNAR is only just being considered and there is huge resistance.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

On the other end of the spectrum private childcare costs much more for only Monday-Friday daytime hours

Private childcare is not £1k per week.

I bet it would be a similar rate per hour though

It's just a shame you have to go to Switzerland to have this as an option.
The dying with dignity campaign is worth signing. There is a UK platform too.
It has moved to committee stage in Ireland and hopefully up for referendum in the near future.
www.dignityindying.org.uk/

@endofthelinefinally

A big chunk of that £1000 is subsidising a state funded resident because the local authority can't afford the full cost.

This

"Nursing Vs care home is immaterial as the NHS pays the nursing element - you can't go in to a nursing home unless the funded nursing team of your CCG agree you need it, whether you are paying privately or not."

Yes you can if you will pay for the nursing care yourself

As for why my LA is so cheap, it's a low socio-economic area. So the care homes know their potential client group. The neighbouring authority (where a live) is considered much more affluent and the care homes there are much more expensive, but the local authority rate is only marginally more. The care is no better.

@godmum56

"Nursing Vs care home is immaterial as the NHS pays the nursing element - you can't go in to a nursing home unless the funded nursing team of your CCG agree you need it, whether you are paying privately or not."

Yes you can if you will pay for the nursing care yourself

Possibly in your LA, but not in ours - our funded nursing team only pays nursing fees to homes that don't take private nursing clients. As it's a key area for them and the private market is small, they don't take private clients. I'd assumed all areas were the same (as the 2 I've worked in have been) however that clearly isn't the case.

We were quoted £1800 per week for my mother who needed nursing care 24/7. This was at a very "posh" one with all sorts of facilities she was never going to use, but was the only one which would take her. They did agree on £1500 in the end.

I don't understand why nursery and adult care are the things we are least willing to spend money on. Fuck I pay £25 per hour for a dog walker.

My late dm's care home was over £3000 per month nearly ten years ago. On the face of it nice pleasant rooms, good dining etc but it hid a multitude of issues. They let my dm eat a selection of solid food one lunch time unsupervised when she had moved into the phase in dementia where you have difficulty swallowing. She became very unwell and they kept it from me as I couldn't visit for a few days. It really put me off them.

I also made an unexpected visit one morning and found her sat in a chair with only a vest top on by an open window where it was blowing a gale. She couldn't move herself to safety or warmth.

She was assessed for local authority funding but they said she wasn't ill enough. She was now 4.5 stone.

I always remember one of the panel coming up with me to her room (they are not meant to do this) and she told me mum should get funding. But it was brushed aside. Our solicitor told us he had fought for 12 months to get another client this funding only to have it overturned 6 months later. He told me it was not worth the stress of the fight and his expenses as well. At least he was kind.

My ndn husband is in a care home now. They say because he needs observation at all times, two staff must work with him and the fees are over £6,000 per month. This was not an issue at other homes dm was at. How on earth can people fund this. She is talking about selling up, but where will she go as an elderly lady herself?

In my case the LA took out a legal charge over dm's house to be sold upon death.

Interesting point. What is the hourly rate for private childcare, including meals? X 24 hours a day?

It's a crazy amount if money to have to find, but easy to see why it costs what it does. Like childcare really.

I do think the bigger issue is the very poor standard of care in some homes, regardless of costs.

Staff usually on minimum wage and often unskilled. Its a shame the staff at bottom of list take the brundt of the work