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Behind the headlines: 'stuck in the middle' - self-funders in care homes
- Author:
- LOWE Stephen
- Publisher:
- Age UK
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 8
- Place of publication:
- London
This short report looks at the experience of a growing numbers of older people who need to move into a care home and are having to pay their own way. It explains what this means in practice for older people and their families. It contains a sample, with names anonymised, from the 150+ calls Age UK’s information and advice line received in the year to April 2016, about extra charges and other contract terms relating to care homes the callers or their relatives and friends live in and pay for themselves. The case studies outlined in this report are organised around some broad themes: payments in advance; unexpected or arbitrary fee increases; paying for ‘extras’; relatives being asked to guarantee care home fees; relatives asked to agree not to approach the local authority when older people become eligible for local authority funding; giving notice; and hospital stays. The report uncovers the problems people face navigating a complex market and the difficult position they can find themselves in when terms change suddenly or in ways that they don’t think are fair. It also reveals the extent to which ‘self-funders’ are ultimately paying the price for a care system under severe pressure: on average they pay between £603 and £827 a week depending on the area, compared to councils paying between £421 and £624 a week. Furthermore, self-funders are still largely unprotected when it comes to being able to remain in their care home as they have no security of tenure and do not enjoy the protection of the Human Rights Act. The report calls on the Government to recognise the extent of the crisis in the care and support of older people and work with others to address it. The capacity of self-funders to go on cross-subsidising State funded care is not unlimited, nor is it fair to them or their families to expect them to do so at ever higher rates. (Edited publisher abstract)