...BUT BOSSES SAY THEY ‘CAN’T GO ON SUBSIDISING THE HEALTH BOARD’ AS MOVE SPARKS FEARS FOR RESIDENTS’ FUTURE

HEALTH bosses have slammed a care firm’s decision to ask every resident to pay an extra £3,900.

Pendine Park Care, which is run by one of North Wales’ richest men, Mario Kreft (pictured), says the fees are for “enrichment therapy”, a staff pay rise and painting and decorating.

One of its homes, Bryn Seiont, Caernarfon, was only built four years ago.

The overall cost to the families of the 440 people in the homes – which are spread across North Wales – is around £3,900 a year per resident.

The company made a profit of around £4.2m last year and owner Mario Kreft is worth an estimated £28m. He says the extra cash is needed because there is a shortfall in funding from the health board.

In April staff received a 4.9% pay rise. Mr Kreft says the extra fee equates to roughly 40p an hour and it is “morally wrong and unfair that you can be paid more for stacking shelves in a supermarket than for providing skilled and dedicated care to vulnerable people”.

But Betsi Cadwaladr said it was concerned what the company had done could have a “negative effect” on its service users.

The fee hike came to light when our sister paper the Daily Post received a letter from someone who said they were a member of staff at one of Pendine’s homes, saying: “Many of the families of our residents can’t afford to pay the required £75 a week and feel they have been misled as no mention of it was made when they were admitted.”

Pendine Park Care says it has resisted introducing top up fees for as long as it could and is the last provider to bring them in. It says inadequate fees are paid to independent providers and says social care is “chronically underfunded” (see panel response). The owner of another North Wales care firm backed up the claims, telling the Post: “I would totally agree that there is a shortfall in funding when it comes to social care. The health board pays less than local authorities, and I can understand why Pendine Park Care has introduced top up fees.”

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has come in for much criticism over the fees it pays to care homes. But it said on Wednesday it was important people’s care packages were reviewed to make sure they were only being charged for “identified clinical reasons”.

The spokesman added: “We were concerned to learn that a care home owner has chosen to write directly to service users and their families, and are conscious of the negative effect this is likely to have on them.

“The health board sets the standard fee rate for NHS continuing health care, which increases year on year. However, every patient is an individual. If there is evidence of additional health needs that require a bespoke package of care additional payments are made to the care home to provide the health care that patient requires.

“The health board is taking measures to ensure all affected patients are having timely reviews of their health care needs so we can determine whether the additional higher cost ‘premium’ accommodation charges being imposed are necessary for identified clinical reasons.”

Plaid Cymru candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd Liz Saville Roberts, who has been written to by some staff and residents concerned by the price hike, called it “unexpected and substantial”.

She added: “Families with relatives at the home will be rightly worried, and I share their concerns. I cannot fathom how a brand new building, only a few years old, can be subject to such maintenance costs, which are then passed on to patients. I therefore call on the Care Inspectorate to address this as a matter of urgency. This is the last thing residents and their families need before Christmas.”