Paying the price for a failing care system: Self-funders face 'eye wateringly high' care home fees

Older people are facing increasingly high care home fees to subsidise the lower fees paid by councils for those who cannot afford to pay, a charity has warned.

According to Age UK’s report ‘Behind the headlines: Stuck in the middle – self-funders in care homes,’ 41 per cent of all residents in UK independent care homes are now paying for their own care, an increase of almost a third in the last ten years, from 130,000 in 2005 to 167,000 in 2014.

Self-funders now pay on average between £603 and £867 a week depending on the area, compared to councils paying between £421 and £624 a week.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: "We are worried that too many older people who pay for their own care home fees are getting a raw deal and are unfairly being asked to pay the price for a failing care system.

"They not only often face eye wateringly high weekly rates, calls to our helpline show that some are being asked to pay even more in ways that most of us would regard as ‘sharp practice’ as care homes struggle to keep the lights on.

"Self-funders deserve greater legal protection from unfair care home contracts and charges that are over the top. Surely the time has come to give these vulnerable older people their proper legal rights."

'Financially squeezed'

The report found that care home providers have been increasingly financially squeezed, particularly by cuts in public funding for social care, that in turn are forcing local authorities to drive down prices. As a result, many care homes are ‘struggling’ to balance the books and turning to self-funders to make up the shortfall to keep their homes open.

The report also reveals that self-funders are still ‘largely unprotected’ when it comes to being able to remain in their care home (security of tenure), measures to ensure fair contracts and the protection of the Human Rights Act.

Whilst this is the case, the charity suggests that many residents and their families will be reluctant to complain or challenge unfair actions by care homes, for fear of jeopardising their accommodation at a time when affordable care home placements are hard to find.

The report is based on the concerns of callers to Age UK’s advice lines which expose how the decision to move into a care home has become ‘very difficult’ and often made in a rush following a spell in hospital.

Cases detailed in the report, which the charity said were representative of calls received, included relatives being asked to accept "joint and several liability" to pay all fees and charges claimed by the care home "on demand" as well as unexpected or arbitrary fee increases for reasons such as residents deemed to have high dependency needs.

Charges for ‘extras’, which in one case included repeated bills for an entertainer, have also been reported, as have notice periods of four weeks amounting to thousands of pounds in charges, when the resident was only in the home for a short time.

'Crisis in care'

The charity argues that self-funding older people in care homes need more legal protection, especially as the shortage of money in the care sector risks exposing them to increased risk of financial exploitation as proprietors struggle to survive.

Ms Abrahams added: "There is no justification for poor charging practice in any care home, but what these calls to our helpline reveal above all is a care system that is not really financially sustainable. The cost of running a care home has risen substantially but the money councils have to buy care has fallen: isn’t it inevitable in these circumstances that providers will look to fill as much of the gap as they can from self-funders? And isn’t it equally unsurprising that so many care homes are going to the wall?

"The problem is that in such a cash-strapped system we are seeing more and more rationing and in this instance it looks like Peter is sometimes being robbed to pay Paul. This is an awful situation for everyone, most of all for the older people and their families, and it shows how important it is that the new Government grips the crisis in care and works with others, including Age UK, to address it."

For more information, visit or advice: www.ageuk.org.uk.