Coronavirus costs increasing care home bills, charity says

Some have been given ‘steep and unexpected’ fee, Age UK claims

Care home residents have been asked to pay more to cover costs linked to Covid-19, according to a charity.

Age UK claimed some have been presented with a “coronavirus bill” of more than £100 a week on top of normal fees as costs for staff and personal protective equipment (PPE) rise.

The charity said older people who pay for their care home fees have contacted it about “steep and unexpected” additional sums.

Care homes are having to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a month on PPE to prevent the spread of coronavirus between staff, residents and visitors.

They are also having to pay for agency staff to fill in when their own staff are off sick or self-isolating.

Age UK said it has received calls to its advice line from self-funders saying they are being asked to pay an extra 15 per cent a week – amounting to £127.65 based on the average weekly fee of £851.

It is not clear how many care homes have asked self-funding residents to pay more.

Some 400,000 people live in care homes in England, with around 167,000 believed to be self-funders and 45,000 part self-funders.

Caroline Abrahams, the director of Age UK, said: “Older people living in care homes and their families have been through the mill these last few months as the virus has ripped through one in three of these settings, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.”

She added: “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.”

More than 11,000 care home resident deaths have involved coronavirus since mid-April, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In March, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services charity estimated that providers’ costs would rise between 30-40 per cent to cope with the challenges of the pandemic.

Separate analysis it undertook with the Local Government Association (LGA) suggests social care providers will experience £6.6bn in potential extra costs between April and September.

Local authorities have been given £3.2bn and the government also announced a £600m infection control fund, but social care providers have complained that much-needed funds are not reaching the frontline.

Ms Abrahams said: “Where care homes face extra costs on account of the pandemic it’s only fair that central government ensures they are met – otherwise there’s a risk that some homes could fold, leaving their residents homeless.

“This would be bad enough at the best of times, let alone now when the virus continues to pose a threat, making it safest for everyone to stay put.”

Speaking about the additional fee for self-funders, Ian Hudspeth, councillor and chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “People living in care homes should not be penalised in this way.”

He said the LGA has “worked closely” with care providers to understand what extra costs they are facing due to the pandemic, and “the vast majority of councils” have helped providers with these costs “to the best of their ability”.

The LGA added: “We look forward to working with government on finding a solution to the immediate pressures facing the sector, including a significant further injection of funding, as well as agreeing a long-term, sustainable funding settlement for social care once this current crisis is over.”

The Department of Health and Social Care would not confirm whether it will provide more funds to councils, but said it will keep future funding needs under review.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise that this pandemic is creating significant challenges for care homes and that extra support is needed to care for residents.

“We have now made £3.2bn available to local authorities to address pressures on local services, including in adult social care. We have also provided a further £600m to help reduce the infection rate in care homes.”

Additional reporting by Press Association