Care home fees to trump cost of Eton College

According to a recent article in The Sunday Times (24 January, 2016), the cost of keeping an elderly relative in the average care home in England for a year is set to overtake the cost of sending a child to a top private school.

According to a recent article in The Sunday Times (24 January, 2016), the cost of keeping an elderly relative in the average care home in England for a year is set to overtake the cost of sending a child to a top private school.

Whilst homecare or domiciliary care agencies are not immune from sector-wide factors affecting the costs of providing Care – such as mandatory pension enrolment and the new National Living Wage – homecare does have a major advantage over residential care in that the fixed costs are much lower, meaning that the service can be more easily tailored to fit peoples’ individual needs and budgets.
We also offer a temporary care service, for instance after an illness or following discharge from hospital, or because a regular, private carer or family member is taking a holiday.

While our homecare service is not quite “Pay As You Go”, it is considerably more flexible than a permanent room in a residential care home, meaning that the service can be structured around a customer’s existing local support network – friends, relatives, neighbours, church groups, charities and other voluntary organisations.

This usually enables our homecare customers to make savings on their care fees whilst remaining safe and secure in their home environment, with all familiar social networks intact – an outcome favoured by many.

Even the most modest care arrangement can be enough to reduce the risk of accidents in the home, which are often the precursor to reduced independence and higher care bills – either from a more costly Live in Care service, or a move to a residential setting. 

More information about our homecare service can be found here. Some key paragraphs from The Sunday Times article are pasted below; subscribers can read the full article here. 

“The average UK care home, including nursing, costs £676 a week, according to Symponia, a company that helps families find local care fee advisers, although it can easily top £1,000 depending on the region and level of care.”

“Care home bosses normally review fees in January or April. The hefty increases expected this year [2016] are in part due to the introduction of the national living wage in April, which will raise the salaries of many care home workers. The wage is being set at £7.20 an hour for workers aged 25 and above, compared with a national minimum wage currently at £6.70 for those aged 21 and over. New rules mean care home bosses are also having to pay into pensions for their workers for the first time.”

“Janet Davies, managing director of Symponia, said care home inflation had “settled down in recent years, averaging about 5%”, but fees could rise by 8%-10% this year. “Implementing the national living wage will have a dramatic effect on many businesses, not just care homes.”

“If you live in England or Northern Ireland and have more than £23,250 in capital and savings, you will have to fund all your own care. This figure includes the value of your property, unless it is lived in by your partner or certain relatives.”

“Residents who pay towards their care often have to pick up a higher bill because they subsidise the fees that local authorities pay for those who qualify for state help."

“Critics claim the squeeze on council funding is contributing to the care home crisis.”