A significant number of care homes for older people who need nursing or residential care are still being under-funded, according to updated research released today (17 September) by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The author, William Laing of health and community care analysts Laing & Buisson, has twice before reported on the gap between council fees and the reasonable costs of running a good-quality care home. In his latest report on this subject, Laing says that around £540m of extra funding is still needed in the system for local authorities to fund a modernised care home sector.
The research uses benchmarking data to calculate a ‘fair market fee’ with ‘ceiling’ and ‘floor’ rates for what care home places should cost. It suggests that where care home fees fall between these brackets should be determined by their quality. Only if a home is fully up-to-date with its physical environmental standards and has a service rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by the regulator should it warrant the highest fees.
William Laing said: "Care homes that meet the highest standards will cost more for care places, but this will benefit everyone, not just providers and investors. If a ‘fair market fee’ were introduced, older people who rely on state funding would have access to better quality facilities and relatives or charities would no longer need to make ‘top-up’ payments to keep elderly residents in their chosen care home."
The report includes an updated ‘toolkit’ from previous reports in 2002 and 2004. The ‘toolkit’ allows local authorities and providers to calculate a fair price for care home places based on local conditions and context, as well as assessed performance and adherence to the latest physical environment standards.
The report estimates fair market fees for operating a typical, modern and efficient care home in 2008/9. Outside London, weekly figures amount to £665 for nursing care, £538 for the personal care of frail older people and £556 for the care of older people with dementia though costs are higher in more affluent parts of England.
Laing added: "The principle objective of this toolkit is to provide a transparent and robust means of calculating the reasonable operating costs of efficient care homes in any given locality."
"This will prevent Councils and their NHS partners paying for sub-standard homes at the same rate as good quality homes. It will also encourage sub-standard care homes to make improvements."
