Care home costs rise by £1.5m

TOWN Hall bosses have agreed to increase by about £1.5 million a year the amount they pay to care home owners across Warrington in respect of residents placed in the homes by the borough council.
The increase – which equates to £40 per placement per week – is an interim offer up to the end of March next year.
It will mean fees range from £425 a week to £494, depending on the level of care required.
A further £109.79 per week is paid to homes by the NHS as a contribution to the cost of caring for some residents requiring nursing care.
The council’s executive board has agreed the increases as an interim measure while a full review is carried out into the levels of fees based on the actual cost of care, the viability of the current market and affordability.
Cllr Pat Wright, the council’s lead member for health, wellbeing and adult social care, said: “This decision is all about the actual cost of quality care in Warrington and our approach and decisions must be driven by that principle and a focus on what is needed to protect and care for the most vulnerable in society.”
In 2010, Warrington Borough Council proposed that the £41 million budget for externally commissioned adult social care, including residential and nursing care services, should be reduced by five per cent to deliver savings of £2.3 million a year.
It was anticipated that in 2011-12, the council would find £1.418 million of that saving from funding for residential and nursing care services.
However, the council acknowledges that its approach to fixing fees must be determined by the actual cost of care and other relevant factors, rather than by budget targets.
The process of determining fees has proved complex and is still continuing.