UK News

UK CARE HOME CHAOS: Residents Furious after being asked to Pay Extra for COVID Coverage

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 06 Jun 2020 • 12:47

The govenment has been asked to step in and help with the rise in care home costs

Care home residents in the UK are fuming after being asked to foot €130 a week bill to cover coronavirus costs

It has been revealed that some older people who fund their own care home fees are being forced to pay a steep and unexpected coronavirus bill by their care provider, many residents have already said they cannot afford it.

Older people and their families are being asked to pay more than €130a week on top of their usual care home fees, with the care homes saying the cost of PPE and staff absences could push their finances into the red, possibly forcing them to close for good.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: “Older people living in care homes and their families have been through the mill these last few months, 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.”

Abrahams warned the government should help with the extra care home residents’ expenses “Otherwise there’s a risk that some homes could fold, leaving their residents homeless,”

The government has recently pledged €672 Million for infection control in care homes and a further €3.8 Billion for wider council services. The average cost of a residential care home in the UK, in 2019, was approx €40,000 a year. This rose to over €50,000 a year if nursing care costs are included.