Care home residents foot £100 a week for coronavirus costs

Some older people who fund their own care home fees are being forced to pay a steep and unexpected coronavirus bill by their care provider, it has been revealed.

Older people and their families are being asked to pay more than £100 a week on top of their usual care home fees, with homes saying the cost of PPE and staff absences could push their finances into the red, threatening their sustainability.

“Older people living in care homes and their families have been through the mill these last few months,” said Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. “It is adding insult to injury that after going through so much, some residents who pay for their own care are now facing a big extra bill – on top of already expensive fees.”

Abrahams said that central government should meet care homes’ extra costs. “Otherwise there’s a risk that some homes could fold, leaving their residents homeless,” she warned.

Judy Downey, chair of the Relatives & Residents Association, said: “The R&RA, like the Competition and Markets Authority, takes a very dim view of care providers who exploit the vulnerabilities of older people.

“This is particularly distressing at such a stressful time when most residents have little knowledge of their contractual rights,” she added. “Contracts must not be unfair or misleading and must justify any new charge. Forcing residents with little or no alternative to accept unanticipated costs may be exploitative and unfair. It may also be unlawful. We urge all families in this position to contact us or the CMA urgently for further advice.”

Margaret, in her 90s, is living in a care home while her husband, Mo, also in his 90s, still lives in their family home, paying for Margaret’s care with their life savings. A week ago Mo was told that he will need to pay an extra £100 per week so that the care home can cover the costs of PPE and agency staff. “I’m really worried about what this will mean for Margaret when we run out of savings,” he said.

Care providers have been faced with significant challenges in trying to stop coronavirus spreading. With 39% of all care homes – or more than 6,000 in England – reporting an outbreak, many are now facing additional expenses. Reports suggested costs are more than 30% higher than usual, and that as many as 20,000 care homes may go out of business without urgent additional support.

The government has allocated £1.6bn to councils and set up a £600m Infection Control Fund to help them meet the extra costs of the pandemic. But there have been complaints from some care homes that their councils – some of which are also at risk of serious financial problems – have failed to pass on the cash.

Prof Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “What we needed was money going directly to care homes to offset the enormous extra costs associated the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet again, we see self-funders suffering because the government refused to deliver the money directly to care providers, and local authorities are abandoning self-funders.”

(February 25, 2020)

Public Health England issues guidance stating that it was “very unlikely” care homes would become infected. The guidance was not withdrawn until 12 March.

(March 31, 2020)

Despite a lack of official statistics about fatalities, care homes warn that they are at “breaking point” and MHA, the country’s biggest charitable provider, says it has suspected cases in more than half of its facilities.

(April 2, 2020)

The Department of Health and Social are guidelines on discharging hospital patients into care homes states: “Negative tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home.”

(April 14, 2020)

Chief medical adviser Chris Whitty says that more than one in ten care homes (13.5%) now has at least one case of Covid-19. Whitty says: “Care homes are one of the areas where there are large numbers of vulnerable people and that is an area of risk and therefore we would very much like to have much more extensive testing.”

(April 15, 2020)

Testing is expanded into care homes but only for people with symptoms.

(April 21, 2020)

Five of the largest care home providers say they have now recorded a total of at least 1,052 deaths

(April 28, 2020)

Care home deaths are included alongside deaths in hospitals after a sharp rise of more than 4,300 deaths over a fortnight in England and Wales. Testing is extended to staff and residents without symptoms.

(May 3, 2020)

Launch of a national delivery system for personal protective equipment to care homes is hit by a delay of up to three weeks

(May 13, 2020)

Academics report that more than 22,000 care home residents in England and Wales may have died as a direct or indirect result of Covid-19 – more than double the number stated in official figures.

Recent estimates suggested there are about 400,000 people living in care homes in England, of whom 167,000 are self-funders and 45,000 part self-funders.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are working closely with local authorities to ensure funding is distributed fairly and that it reaches the frontline where it is needed most.”

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, chair of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: “Emergency funds provided by government so far have been helpful but our new joint research with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services shows that there is still a very significant shortfall anticipated by the end of September this year.”