You And Yours - “Care” Home Fees
Discussion
Not had a chance to listen to it, but the whole industry seems like a racket. Roughly £1k per week in fees.
My partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
My partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
Plymo said:
Not had a chance to listen to it, but the whole industry seems like a racket. Roughly £1k per week in fees.
My partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
Exactly our experiences with my late grandfather, covered in sMy partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
t half the time. Or sat in his own piss. But how'd you manage that and constantly look after a large group of old people.Blatantly a racket. Owners were a set of
s.Genuinely hope i have the balls to kill myself before I have to go into a home so I'm not a burden to anyone, financially.
My Grandfather died in a care home called Parkfield, in Butleigh, in 2006.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/dec/10/ukcrime...
Very hard to imagine allowing anyone else in my family to go into care under any circumstances.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/dec/10/ukcrime...
Very hard to imagine allowing anyone else in my family to go into care under any circumstances.
Bathroom_Security said:
Genuinely hope i have the balls to kill myself before I have to go into a home so I'm not a burden to anyone, financially.
I heard the programme, it was shocking but riveting listening, I couldn't turn it off but felt sick hearing some of the stories. The payments people needed to find were staggering, and the government's slippery shoulders in trying to find ways to get out of paying were disgusting. The poor lady who was 87, who's husband had dementia, heart failure, hypertension, couldn't eat, couldn't turn over in bed, etc etc etc (I can't even remember what else!) was heartbreaking.
I feel exactly the same way as you.
Plymo said:
Not had a chance to listen to it, but the whole industry seems like a racket. Roughly £1k per week in fees.
My partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
There's a reason the guy who lives near here and owns a load of care homes (among other things) has a fleet of Bugattis. (Caveat is that is based on what I could find...I may well be completely wrong).My partner used to work in one (not as a carer) and the "care" there seemed very limited frankly. The residents were often left in a bit of a state, missed meals if the staff hadn't managed to get them out and ready in time (so they rushed getting them ready)
Just crap all round.
And very few staff per resident, they had 15-20 residents, with 2 carers, one cleaner, one cook/domestic on duty during the day if no one was off.
For £4k per month you could easily employ one full time and one part time carer to look after you....
Overall my opinion of the industry is it's basically a way for private companies to extract as much money (taxpayers and personal funding) as possible, while spending as little as they can get away with.
My relative was very frightened re having to go into a care home, as he was a visitor to several over the years and was very concerned about what he saw ( and he also raised complaints about them ) so I visited him on an almost daily basis to make sure he was being looked after. I observed the staff and fellow residents etc closely to see.
This particular care home said they could take him in for 4 weeks. We paid in Full up front £5,300 quid.
One day, as I sat with him over a cuppa, I noticed the cos in house magazine on the table. Thumbing through it, I came across an article, I soon realised that it was about the owner. A quick search on the net pulled up his “ $ 20 million dollar yacht “ and that it costs $ 2 million dollars a year to run. The next search pulled up that he was a Director of 58 care homes, YES 58 Care homes, but had resigned from one, leaving 57 companies, yes, 57 companies…..
I have run 2 small businesses and of course i totally understand that a business has to run at a profit and that the over heads are considerable. However, I can’t help thinking that at £5,300 quid per month and with circa 25 residents, someone is making an excessive amount of dollar.
The 2 managers of this particular home were not fit to run a bath, absolutely zero customer face to face skills / communication skills and despite us having to pay up front in FULL for the 4 weeks that he was there, they sent out at least 3 more invoices, each for well over £1,000 quid. Needless to say, this caused his very elderly partner considerable distress ( if she hadn’t had our support, she would have paid them this ) Myself and one of my sons repeatedly told the manager face to face that we had paid in Full up front, but still the demands for payment landed on the door mat.
I repeatedly asked the manager every few days if they could find a room for him after the 4 weeks had ended, but was totally brushed off and ignored. I made the mistake of saying that “We were applying for council funding, as he was running out of money “ she replied “ Residents here have a minimum of £100,000 pounds in their bank accounts “……. Once the council have agreed to fund then we can put him on our waiting list “ needless to say, her reply, deeply p me off !! I said that the family would pay his fees but she wouldn’t accept this.
I was being totally fobbed off.
On the whole, the actual care staff in this home, were good, I became friendly with 3 lady members of staff and they were good at their jobs, kind and caring.
This particular care home said they could take him in for 4 weeks. We paid in Full up front £5,300 quid.
One day, as I sat with him over a cuppa, I noticed the cos in house magazine on the table. Thumbing through it, I came across an article, I soon realised that it was about the owner. A quick search on the net pulled up his “ $ 20 million dollar yacht “ and that it costs $ 2 million dollars a year to run. The next search pulled up that he was a Director of 58 care homes, YES 58 Care homes, but had resigned from one, leaving 57 companies, yes, 57 companies…..
I have run 2 small businesses and of course i totally understand that a business has to run at a profit and that the over heads are considerable. However, I can’t help thinking that at £5,300 quid per month and with circa 25 residents, someone is making an excessive amount of dollar.
The 2 managers of this particular home were not fit to run a bath, absolutely zero customer face to face skills / communication skills and despite us having to pay up front in FULL for the 4 weeks that he was there, they sent out at least 3 more invoices, each for well over £1,000 quid. Needless to say, this caused his very elderly partner considerable distress ( if she hadn’t had our support, she would have paid them this ) Myself and one of my sons repeatedly told the manager face to face that we had paid in Full up front, but still the demands for payment landed on the door mat.
I repeatedly asked the manager every few days if they could find a room for him after the 4 weeks had ended, but was totally brushed off and ignored. I made the mistake of saying that “We were applying for council funding, as he was running out of money “ she replied “ Residents here have a minimum of £100,000 pounds in their bank accounts “……. Once the council have agreed to fund then we can put him on our waiting list “ needless to say, her reply, deeply p me off !! I said that the family would pay his fees but she wouldn’t accept this.
I was being totally fobbed off.
On the whole, the actual care staff in this home, were good, I became friendly with 3 lady members of staff and they were good at their jobs, kind and caring.
Years ago I had an interview for an office job in the HQ of a company that ran a string of care homes.
The alarm bells started in the car park. Director's spaces were full of top of the range, top spec, nearly new German engineering
I was shown around the offices. Told about the top spec PCs, fresh fruit daily for the staff, observed the solid wood designer desks.
I was feeling uncomfortable, by the time I had got to the interview. In my own mind, I had made the decision that I didn't really want to work there and that probably came out in the interview. I didn't get offered the job which I wasn't at all upset about. No doubt they were paying the care home staff minimum wage.
The alarm bells started in the car park. Director's spaces were full of top of the range, top spec, nearly new German engineering
I was shown around the offices. Told about the top spec PCs, fresh fruit daily for the staff, observed the solid wood designer desks.
I was feeling uncomfortable, by the time I had got to the interview. In my own mind, I had made the decision that I didn't really want to work there and that probably came out in the interview. I didn't get offered the job which I wasn't at all upset about. No doubt they were paying the care home staff minimum wage.
Slow.Patrol said:
Years ago I had an interview for an office job in the HQ of a company that ran a string of care homes.
The alarm bells started in the car park. Director's spaces were full of top of the range, top spec, nearly new German engineering
If they were running a number of care homes that sounds like a sizeable business and directors in any business of that size would expect £70K+ if not far more. It would be unlikely they would be driving a beaten up family hatchbacks and does not indicate by itself price gouging. The alarm bells started in the car park. Director's spaces were full of top of the range, top spec, nearly new German engineering
My mum ended up in a care home for the last 18 months of her life.
She resented the fact that she had to go into one in the first place, hated the fact that she had to sell her home to pay the fees- depriving me and my sister of an asset mum had worked so hard for.
We found a really nice, well staffed, happy home which was run by BUPA - cannot complain about the place at all really (after looking at some others, it was definitely a better place to be.
The cost - £7k a month.
Mums resentment grew throughout her time there until she took it upon herself to actively die. Refusing to eat, refusing any treatment plan in hospital and shutting down. She died in October of last year -after just under £130k of “her” money was paid to them.
She was lucky in the sense that the home really was nice and all the staff (management included) did genuinely care and worked as a team.
I think she would’ve given up much sooner if she ended up in a council or small private home.
I never want to be in that position - I’m more than happy to make my own decision when it comes just to check and and say I’ve had enough.
She resented the fact that she had to go into one in the first place, hated the fact that she had to sell her home to pay the fees- depriving me and my sister of an asset mum had worked so hard for.
We found a really nice, well staffed, happy home which was run by BUPA - cannot complain about the place at all really (after looking at some others, it was definitely a better place to be.
The cost - £7k a month.
Mums resentment grew throughout her time there until she took it upon herself to actively die. Refusing to eat, refusing any treatment plan in hospital and shutting down. She died in October of last year -after just under £130k of “her” money was paid to them.
She was lucky in the sense that the home really was nice and all the staff (management included) did genuinely care and worked as a team.
I think she would’ve given up much sooner if she ended up in a council or small private home.
I never want to be in that position - I’m more than happy to make my own decision when it comes just to check and and say I’ve had enough.
Otispunkmeyer said:
There's a reason the guy who lives near here and owns a load of care homes (among other things) has a fleet of Bugattis. (Caveat is that is based on what I could find...I may well be completely wrong).
I know a retired cop who owns a care home. He drives a pretty new Bentley. Obviously times are hard.pidsy said:
The cost - £7k a month.
I just can't get my head around that sort of figure. I know these are private businesses who can charge what they want and nobody is forcing anyone to part with their money.. but it's just taking advantage of vulnerable elderly people with equity in their property and no other options. Feels like it needs regulated and some sort of reasonable price cap.romft123 said:
Whats the monthly cost for in home care as opposed to being in a care home?
Higher than most might think. I know someone who requires 24/7 attendance they need at least 4 people to provide this - after just two days on site each will have done 48 hours of work & that's them done for the week. Chris Peacock said:
pidsy said:
The cost - £7k a month.
I just can't get my head around that sort of figure. I know these are private businesses who can charge what they want and nobody is forcing anyone to part with their money.. but it's just taking advantage of vulnerable elderly people with equity in their property and no other options. Feels like it needs regulated and some sort of reasonable price cap.You have to bear in mind that even at those fee levels staff costs tend to be close to 60% of revenue. Before you start to look at the costs of the building.
Also there has been an issue of private residents subsidising council paid residents as the rates are often lower for the latter.
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