My mum is in a nursing home. The fees are £450 per week for a Local Authority funded resident, £575 per week for a self funded resident. My mum's property has yet to be sold so she is on a deferred payment scheme - the Local Authority have a charge on her property and they will be paid back when the house is sold. However, if the house is sold she will instantly start paying an extra £125 in nursing home fees. For some reason the debt that is accruing to the Local Authority is only running at £450 per week. Therefore there is no incentive to sell her house. I also do not understand how a nursing home can charge its self funded residents so much more than they charge the Local Authority. I understand that there is a maximum amount that each Local Authority will pay, presumably £450 minus the resident's income apart from £18.80 personal allowance but don't understand why the self funded residents are paying so much more and, in effect, subsidising the places of Local Authority funded residents. Doesn't this mean that self funded residents are being penalised twice - firstly by having to pay for care which should be free and secondly paying more than the Local Authority does! Has anyone else come across this?
Two Tier Nursing Home Fees
- Thread starter noelphobic
- Start date
I think this comes down to market forces.
the local authority is in a strong bargining position because of the number of clints it places. if your mother moved out the home coud probably fill the place easily. if the local authority took away its clients then the home would not be able to replace all the patients and would probably go out of business.
the local authority is in a strong bargining position because of the number of clints it places. if your mother moved out the home coud probably fill the place easily. if the local authority took away its clients then the home would not be able to replace all the patients and would probably go out of business.
I think Bernie has hit the nail on the head.
The home Lionel was in recently was charging in exactly the same way.
Connie
The home Lionel was in recently was charging in exactly the same way.
Connie
As I understand it the Local Authority can' t force us to sell the house. Once the house is sold then the fees will rise by £125 per week anyway so we will not sell the house until we have to. That reasoning should keep my greedy brother at bay! He is very interested in how much the house is worth and why it hasn't been sold! Not very interested in his mother's welfare though, having only seen her once since my dad's funeral 15 months ago!
