2010-03-18 12:17:42
Why do care home charges vary between homes?
The average annual cost for a residential care home place is around £26,000 per year and for a care home with nursing, £35,000. However, charges vary significantly between individual homes for several reasons.
The care home’s location
Care home charges are higher than average in wealthier areas such as south east England and lower in rural or deprived areas, particularly the north of England and much of Wales.
The organization that runs the care home
The NHS and local authorities have set weekly care home charges, but these are different for each NHS Trust and local authority area and depend on local budgets. Voluntary organizations and private companies can set their own fee levels.
The type of care home and care provided
As seen above, residential care homes have the lowest charges. These homes provide accommodation, personal care and social care. Although care homes with nursing are more expensive, around £100 per week of care from a registered nurse is NHS-funded. Elderly Mentally Infirm (EMI) homes, which provide specialist care for patients with conditions such as dementia, have the highest care home charges.
Whether or not residents are self-funding
Some private care homes charge self-funding residents more per week than the fees they receive from the NHS or local authorities for residents who receive state-funded care, to ‘top up’ shortfalls in covering their costs.
For more information about care homes and their charges, please read our
Care Homes Factsheet.
