Nursing and residential care homes are underfunded by more than £1bn every year, with local councils...
Nursing and residential care homes are underfunded by more than £1bn every year, with local councils paying insufficient fees.
The findings from a study compiled by health and community care analysts, Laing & Buisson, have indicated the fees local councils are prepared to pay are between £75 and £85 a week below the costs of running a quality care home.
William Laing, managing director of Laing & Buisson, said: 'This study demonstrates the fees paid to independent care homes by councils throughout Britain typically fall well below a level that offers an adequate return to owners and operators.'
The study also found 250,000 older people are receiving State support for residential care, which leads to an annual funding shortfall of £1.04m every year.
Caroline McQuade, financial practitioner at Inter-Alliance, said: 'Homes are getting tougher. They do not want local authority-funded residents, they want self-funders. Such people have been funding local authority people for years and as there are limited beds, nursing homes can afford to become more choosy.'
The report includes a tool kit which enables local authorities to calculate a fair price for publicly-funded places in privately-run homes.
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