Why is the cost of care so high?

[Truetoself]

I think the average household income in UK is around £33K? I believe the cost of a care home is upwards of £5K a month and that of a live in carer us around £10k. I am trying ro work out how this makes sense because it is not proportionate to the income of an average household in the country.

Because care homes have to have staff round the clock, and cover all bills, so residents don't pay hearing, food, laundry, cleaners, (council tax?), insurance etc.

(Though my limited research has cost of care home approx equal to live in care.)

Because the carers and staff need to be paid (around the clock not just 9-5). Heat, light, equipment, cleaning, insurance, food. It all addss up

Because all the overheads are expensive.

The average household income isn't really relevant, most people pay for long term care from investments, not income.

Why would there be any relation between care home cost and household income?

How much would you want to be paid to be a live in carer? To cover 24 hours 7 days pw you'd need at least 4 people.

Most care homes have very small profit margins - as others have pointed out, they need many staff (most on low wages) to provide round-the-clock care cover, plus cooks to provide meals, to cover the food, laundry and utility bills. and maintain and repair the buildings.

For comparison, think how much a room in a hotel and eating out three times a day would cost, and that's without any of the additional care costs that a care home has to offer.

And on top of the actual costs there's . another issue

Household income covers food, housing, insurance, gas, electric, water, TV etc.
Care home fees cover the above plus carers, chefs, cleaners. The outgoings are more than typical household outgoings so obviously fees need to be higher.

Overheads plus dividends:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/24/uk-private-care-providers-profit-rise-covid-report

One third as profit
ans most of the rest as mortgage on building ( future profit)

A lot goes towards subsidising other residents who don’t pay. I think it works out on average someone who can pay, pays for themselves and roughly another 1.5 persons residence on top. It needs to be this way to function.

Owned for profit, care homes or chains are taken over by say private equity investors, who use debt to purchase it. The care home(s) owned its own property. The new owners transfer the property to an off shore company, in a tax haven, which charges rent on the property to the care home in the UK. The rent in the offshore company will be tax free.

The care home is now having to pay rent and interest on the debt, out of profits, which it may well not have had to do before, if the mortgage on the property had been paid off long ago.

Imo, it’s always best to look for not for profit care homes, such as charities, where you only pay for the utility bills, staff, equipment, etc. You are not paying for the profit, rent and debt interest.

Staff most likely only get NMW, but the care home has to pay on top of their wages, NI employers, auto enrolment pension contributions, training, sick leave and holidays. Agencies, to cover sick leave at short notice, will charge considerably more to cover all this, plus their own admin and profit.

Gas and electric bills are likely to be higher than the average house, because vulnerable people feel the cold more. DD needs a fan/air conditioning on her all summer, because she gets too hot, affecting her medical condition. People with incontinence or who drop food all over their clothes, need far more laundry doing. Our dual fuel bill doubles, when DD comes home for a visit.

There may be lifts, where the average house holder uses stairs - they are expensive.

Because people are making money out of it. This country is being hollowed out by privatisation and profit-seeking.

😥Indeed. The super-rich have bought up all the worlds resources and are selling them back to us for twice what we were paying 5 years ago.

Four shifts of staff (three shifts of 8 hours in every 24 hours, plus a shift on holiday/sickness/training.

Minimum wage of £12/hr plus pension payments, NI, insurance. Say £20 an hour total, so that's £640 to provide one member of staff on duty around the clock, per day

Multiplied by 30 days is £19,200 to have one member of staff on duty around the clock, per month.

Then add the cost of accommodation with all the necessary adaptations to meet regulations. Basic hotels that don't need any adaptations charge £100 a room per night, including cleaning, utilities, wear and tear, so maybe £150 a night x 30 nights in a month = £4,500 a month per room.

It makes £1,500 a week look less unreasonable.

Hmm. i am wondering how the average family are expected to afford this.

The average family are not expected to afford this.

not everyone goes into care. Some people die through accidents or at home or in hospital without ever having been in care.

if someone does need to go into care they pay for it until they run out of money and then the local council has to pay.

this is partly why local councils have no money any more.

It’s not families that have to afford it it’s the individual -usually funds it by selling their previous property which obviously can’t live in independently any more. Am puzzled why you keep talking about average wages and average families?

It’s the same in the private chain nurseries.

Because care homes are profit making businesses, allowing rich people to get richer at the expense of the elderly and infirm.

£5000 a week doesn’t seem that bad if you that into consideration it’s rent, bills, food and 24/7 care. Plus the cost of life in general at the moment.

Average monthly rent for a 1 bed in the U.K. is £1000, average council tax is £140, energy bills £105. Average 5 day nursery place is £1350 and that for 10 hours a day for 5 days a week.

Life in general isn’t proportional to the average income at the moment.

Because the residents that are self funding are subsidising those that have no assets to sell.

Most people never need a care home, it’s a last resort for people who can not be cared for at home. Costs are high due to the sheer cost of staff, training, equipment ect before any household bills are even considered.

This