‘I paid £11,000 for six weeks of care’: how the ‘appalling’ upfront fees add up

Elderly residents at two of Britain’s biggest care home operators are being forced to pay “administration charges” of up to £6,000 – just for moving in.

The charges are ostensibly to cover clinical costs ahead of a resident’s arrival, but industry insiders have described them as “appalling and unnecessary”.

Barchester Healthcare and Care UK, which collectively have around 20,000 residents, both charge residents a fee equivalent to up to two weeks’ care before moving in.

Last year, the average cost of nursing care surpassed £1,000 a week for the first time. One Telegraph Money reader, who wished to remain anonymous, was charged £6,000 when her mother moved into a home operated by Sunrise Senior Living.

Sunrise has 2,000 residents living at 25 homes across the Home Counties. Its website boasts it has a “personcentred approach” and “champions quality of life for all older adults”. Sunrise said its set-up charge – which it called a “community fee” – varies from year to year and is used to fund maintenance in communal areas.

A spokesman said: “Providing high-quality individualised care for each of our residents is our priority.

“An important part of that is ensuring that our communal areas and facilities are outstanding. Residents pay a one-off fee, which is spent on maintaining these.” Another reader, 75, said she was charged £2,200, the equivalent of two weeks’ fees, when her 96-year-old mother was moved into a care home near Bristol run by Barchester Healthcare in November last year. Her mother died six weeks later and she was charged a further £2,200 in “after death fees”. Her total outlay for six weeks of care and additional charges was more than £11,000. She said: “I have no complaints about her care but £4,400 in admin charges for six weeks of care is an awful lot of money. “When you’re in that situation and your mother needs to go to a care home, no one has prepared you for that or walks you through it. You have to make a decision and it’s difficult to check all the charges and small print.” Barchester said any queries on fees would be addressed on a case-bycase basis. A spokesman added: “We currently charge two weeks’ fees in advance to cover the administrative process involved in preparing the bespoke care required for any new residents. We structure our overall fee this way as much of the admission process represents a one-off cost.”

Care UK said its charge is to “cover the costs associated with clinical assessments, the initial care needs planning process, and preparations and arrangements for the resident’s arrival”. It said this is explained.

Janet Morrison, of the charity Independent Age, said: “Arranging a care home for a loved one can be stressful enough without having to find extra money. Decisions about care homes may need to be made quickly, and often when people are under considerable emotional strain.

“Care home providers need to ensure that all costs and contracts are fair and transparent so that residents and their families know exactly what they’re paying for and when.”

Ray Hart, of Valuing Care, the fees specialist, recommended checking the small print before picking a care home. “We would always recommend trying to start looking as early as possible,” he added. “The more people can prepare before getting to that point, the better.”

Britain’s biggest care homes are making millions in ‘administration fees’, reports Sam Meadows

A Sunrise nursing home in Winchester