Social care � a complex argument that will almost certainly affect someone close to you, now or in the future.

We live in a postcode lottery when it comes to care and the quality of the service provision available. This is a fact, currently more than 75% of all new care home developments are happening in the South East of England. The reason, it’s where the money is – apparently, and that’s based on house values and available income, not on care and whether you should receive it.

So we are effectively saying that care is available at a certain standard only if you choose to invest in it yourself. This is all well and good but should care really be seen in this way.

Many figures are banded around about the weekly cost of care and to many they are perceived as astronomical figures. Most privately funded care placements range from £1000 to £1600 per week with many living in care for upward of two years.

So let's do the maths, is £1000 per week over two years totalling over £100,000 a lot? Some will say yes but lets understand what this fee is for:  

  • A 20 sq m plus bedroom with an ensuite wet room facility
  • 24/7 personal care from a highly trained team of individuals
  • Three meals a day, snacks and refreshments
  • Communal spaces
  • Wellbeing activities and  transport to events
  • Exercise space
  • Laundry services
  • Visiting services
  • Healthcare interactions
  • Full record of this on a daily  interaction basis
  • Fully insured and supported
  • And much more.

This works out at £143 per day (not per night), have you booked a hotel lately? According the BDO report in 2018 the average UK cost per night for a hotel is £100.58 per night that is around £707 per week for a hotel room and some instances breakfast for one whole week. This means that all the other elements in the above list should only equate to £300 per week, that is £43 per day for everything else. When you start to break this down that's not a bad deal is it?

This isn’t about justifying care home fees, it’s about highlighting the vast disparity in the clarity around care home fees when looking at funding. You begin to understand when self-funding isn’t an option why there is such a demand for fees and funding to be increased.

Read the full article by Adam Hutchison - Belmont Healthcare Managing Director / Care Workers Charity Trustee / Care Association Director and Board member. at Healthcare Business Magazine

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