2015 8% Fees Increase

[Titfield]

I am aghast.

I have been advised that my MILs fees are to go up by 8% from 1st April to £940 per week.

A scant justification refers to having to pay higher wages to reduce staff turnover and use of agency staff; having to improve fire safety standards and refurbish the home.

Does anyone have any ideas as how best to try and tackle this.

Given that the RPI is c1% this seems highly excessive.

If they increase fees at this rate then my MIL will have exhausted her entire capital including the value of her house in next to no time.

 

[Chemmy]

We've just had notification that MILs fees are going up 4.6%.

2% increase on staff pay and the rest on increased running costs.

 

[Martin099]

There's not much you can do I'm afraid. We just had notification of a 5% increase - I wrote a letter asking for a breakdown of the extra costs, but only received a very wordy response which talked about refurbishments and improving the care service that they provide.
There are numerous private care home providers and as such they are free to charge whatever they like without fear of regulation or monopolies investigations!
It sounds a cold thing to say but we have to face reality that we are all dealing with profit making businesses that in many cases will prioritise profit over the care service they provide. Thankfully the carers on the ground are usually lovely people that really do care for our loved ones.
Good luck
Martin

 

[Kevinl]

I'm not sticking up for these increases in the main they do sound a bit excessive, however, the RPI is as the name suggests a Retail Price Index, care homes are businesses and so the RPI is a bit irrelevant.
If you look at the items used to calculate the RPI you'll see they're in the main irrelevant to businesses, we're as consumers all benefiting from the supermarket price war but the care homes will be buying food from cash and carrys where prices are going up not down likewise trade prices for meats, the retail trade may be taking a smaller margin so the customer sees a fall in price but wholesale prices are going up.
A lot of what's happening to me as a retail consumer are the exact opposite of what I'm seeing in business where virtually all prices are going up and going up substantially.
Carehomes are businesses and at the end of the day they'll do 2 things: make a profit for the shareholders and charge as much as the market can bear that with the additional complication of self funders being milked dry to subsidise the council rate.
As the council has them by the spherical man bits then you're also putting money into their coffers too. That's the free market for you and why it should have no place in health care at any level.
K

 

[jimbosmith]

It's a shame that these costs aren't included in inflation calculation. Wonder why they aren't, especially in a run up to an election? Hmmm

 

[Pete R]

8% is a somewhat large amount and unfortunately I have no idea how to fight it.

A scant justification refers to having to pay higher wages to reduce staff turnover and use of agency staff;

Wouldn't it be nice if that actually happened.

having to improve fire safety standards and refurbish the home.

Surely those sort of expenses should already be included?

In my Mom's current NH the difference between what the LA pay and self funders pay is a whopping £330/week. If LA's paid more of the going rate then selfunders funds may actually last a little bit longer.

 

[lexy]

deleted

 

[Spamar]

Where OH goes for respite has gone up 6.25% from last year (July) to this January.

 

[love.dad.but..]

Dad's went up 7% in January and will probably rise each year. I think it's a case of because they can, they will!

 

[stanleypj]

I sympathise with all those faced with unjustifiable increases. A lot of it, as has been suggested, will be down to the LAs effectively freezing the amount they will pay for care home places. They, of course, have little option as the overall amount available for social care has by no means kept pace with rising costs and rising demand. This is an aspect of 'austerity' which has not received the attention it should.

It's just like what is happening with child care. The government garners votes by giving toddlers a number of hours of 'free' childcare but the amount the care homes receive for this care does is now inadequate and so nurseries get the money they need to maintain their profits by raising their charges for all the hours that working parents have to pay for.

I've looked very at the social care policies of the various parties here and will be taking this into account when I vote.