Increase in care home fees

[Vegpatch]

I'm sure this is a question with only one answer, but am currently feeling physically sick after receiving another letter from my dads care home, increasing their fees. 20% increase from 1st dec - the last increase was 1st April this year. From 975 pcw when he went there (July 18)...we're now being asked to pay 1266 pcw.

Is there no way to challenge these ridiculous increases for us self funders ??!

It's a large care organisation with over £20million of projects in their pipeline. Whoopee for them - using my dads money to build more homes & increase their profits...

 

[Beate]

Unfortunately it's a free and relatively unregulated market - if you can't afford it someone else will take the place. I don't agree with it but I don't see what you can do apart from finding somewhere cheaper elsewhere. Rents go up steadily too, as do utility bills or insurance fees - life gets more expensive everywhere.

 

[nitram]

Query the increase, is any of it personal to your dad due to an increase in his needs?

Probably won't get anywhere but you have nothing to lose.

 

[Nigel_2172]

An increase of 20% is blatant profiteering if there is no increase in the service being requested or being provided. Definitely ask for / demand an immediate explanation.

 

[love.dad.but..]

That is a very steep increase and I would definitely ask for justification and why such a leap. From my experience however when dad was in care, even though I challenged each annual increase there was not anything I could do about it, their answer was simply well look for somewhere else then.

 

[kindred]

I'm sure this is a question with only one answer, but am currently feeling physically sick after receiving another letter from my dads care home, increasing their fees. 20% increase from 1st dec - the last increase was 1st April this year. From 975 pcw when he went there (July 18)...we're now being asked to pay 1266 pcw.

Is there no way to challenge these ridiculous increases for us self funders ??!

It's a large care organisation with over £20million of projects in their pipeline. Whoopee for them - using my dads money to build more homes & increase their profits...

That is a huge increase. I used to feel physically sick writing cheques for £1,450 each week (husband was in nursing home - more expensive than care home). It's frightening isn't it, all sympathy. I was awarded CHC after my OH had died, I got 3 weeks of that.
We are nearly all in the hands of the private sector. Back in the day, before Mrs Thatcher, there were large community mental hospitals all around big cities and these were closed (to become posh flats) and care was then so called in the community. Hence the rise of the nursing and care home private sector.
There is no one else offering care though, so we have to put up with it. What is happening now is that the private sector is building loads more homes and this is just a fragmented and high cost version of the large free community hospitals. The latter were not all bad by any means, I used to visit people in them.
Fellow feeling to you.
warmest, Kindred.

 

[Leeds]

I'm sure this is a question with only one answer, but am currently feeling physically sick after receiving another letter from my dads care home, increasing their fees. 20% increase from 1st dec - the last increase was 1st April this year. From 975 pcw when he went there (July 18)...we're now being asked to pay 1266 pcw.

Is there no way to challenge these ridiculous increases for us self funders ??!

It's a large care organisation with over £20million of projects in their pipeline. Whoopee for them - using my dads money to build more homes & increase their profits...

Hi, I challenged dad’s fee increase a couple of years ago. They tried to increase by 20%, I asked for a breakdown, they tried to say dad’s care needs had changed and were more complex. They could not provide evidence to justify this increase. I was fortunate that they revised the increase down to 6%. I always copy the logs kept for dad, ready for future challenges. Good luck x

 

[Sirena]

As others have said, I would query it as it is such a big increase. Did they give reasons?

My mother has been in her care home for nearly two years and I was dreading the first annual fee revision, but it was minimal. If her care needs increase though, I would expect to pay more.