Care home ‘self-funders’ charged £12,500 a year more than council-funded residents – Alzheimer’s Society comment
New analysis from Just Group has revealed how residents of care homes in England who meet their own fees are charged on average £12,500 a year more than those whose care is paid for by their local authority.
The average annual fee for self-funders is £44,252, far higher than the average fee paid by councils - £31,720. The difference between the two groups is £12,532 or more than £1,000 a month extra for the self-funder.
Sally Copley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“It is clear that these findings are the hallmark of a social care system is in crisis. People who desperately need support are still left having to navigate a horrendously unjust, broken system of social care. In addition those people paying more for the care they need, an estimated 70% of care home residents are living with dementia, and often face even greater additional costs for their complex care. We have long known that the social care crisis is a dementia crisis and it is deeply disturbing that people with dementia continue to pay through the nose for their care.
“The cost of dementia care is on average 15% more than standard social care and people with dementia are faced with typical costs of £100,000 for their care. We need decisive action from the Prime Minister now to create a dedicated £2.4bn NHS Dementia Fund so they can access the quality care they so urgently need.”
