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Health

Care costs 'up two-fifths'

02/09/2008

The cost of care provided by local authorities has risen by 39 per cent over the last year, a survey said on Tuesday.

According to data from Counsel and Care, the maximum weekly charge now stands at £256.10, an increase of almost two-fifths against last year.

The charity claims the increased cost of care and how it is rationed is undermining a commitment to person-centred care.

In its research it found councils were charging up to £18 an hour, while the national average had risen 16 per cent to £12.84.

Some people said they were paying £18 an hour for care, while one fifth of councils said they did not have an upper limit on costs, leaving residents open to total costs of £450 a week.

Counsel and Care's chief executive Stephen Burke said care services from local authorities were becoming "unaffordable".

"A review of home care charging, and its impact on the lives of older people, their families and carers, should be undertaken as a first priority," Mr Burke said.

"Future reform of care and support must include charging procedures that are transparent and equitable, but most of all work to ensure a good quality of life for all those using services.

"We call on councils to be brave and challenge existing practices with innovative new ways forward to ensure that the transformation agenda is not simply rhetoric, but makes a real difference to the reality of the lives of older people, their families and carers."