Care home fees rise by £900 with days’ notice

Care home fees for the elderly rose by an average of £900 last year, and more than twice that for those needing nursing care, research shows. Up to 22,000 older people receiving residential care in England were given just one week’s notice of hefty increases in their bills.

TYPICAL care home fees for elderly people rose by an average of £900 last year, and more than twice that for those needing more intensive nursing, research has disclosed.

As many as 22,000 older people receiving residential care in England – almost one in 10 – were given just a week’s notice before seeing hefty increases in their bills, it found.

Most of the others were given less than a month to adjust to significant increases in their bills, the investigation by the charity Citizens Advice concluded.

Separate research by the website Good Care Guide, meanwhile, has pointed to “dire” standards in care provided to older people in their own homes.

Citizens Advice carried out a mystery shopping exercise on just over 400 care homes. Eight per cent told researchers that they give only a week’s notice to residents of price increases.

That suggests that around 22,000 older people and their families last year were given days to adjust to the rises.

The charity says this is not enough time for vulnerable elderly people to be prepared for the potential upheaval of moving to a cheaper home.

Separate analysis by the consumer charity found that average costs had risen steeply. In the east of England, costs had risen by an average of £2,000.

It is calling for a minimum notice period care homes must give residents before imposing price rises.

The research found that average annual fees for nursing care in England increased by £1,872 to £40,248 in the financial year 2014-15.

Bills for less intensive residential home care rose by £572, to reach £29,588 over the period.

The average rise, taking account of the different levels of care, was around £900.

“People in care homes are at the mercy of price rises,” said Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice. “A week’s notice puts enormous pressure on care home residents or their families to pay.

“It is unreasonable for vulnerable people to face such a small window to compare costs and make alternative arrangements if they cannot afford the higher fees.”

Local authorities will pay the whole care bill if the resident has less than £14,250 and will help pay if they have savings and assets of less than £23,250. However, residents who have more than that must pay the entire cost themselves. Fees vary widely, and families are often forced to sell homes and assets to pay for care.

A Conservative manifesto promise originally meant to come into force this year to introduce a lifetime cap of £72,000 on the amount people should spend on care has been shelved until at least 2020 after council leaders asked for the funding to be spent elsewhere.

The research also found that many homes do not include in their fees the price of basic services such as visits to a GP or use of a telephone.

Ms Guy added: “Some people are also being caught out by hidden extra care fees appearing on their bill.”

She called for the Competition and Markets Authority to look at the carehome market.