Funding shortfalls delay discharges says care bosspublished at 17:57 GMT 22 January
17:57 GMT 22 January
A shortfall in government funding is preventing care homes
from taking on the number of patients needed to ease pressure on hospital beds,
the co-owner of one home says.
Helen Thompson from Ochre Care, which runs
two private homes in North Yorkshire, said current funding levels did not match the
costs of support needed for many residents coming out of hospital.
Thompson said while her company “absolutely” had capacity, funding from government was “not appropriate to the level of
need”.
She said as a provider, the company received about
£994 a week for each council-funded resident, but the real cost of providing
care was up to £1,300 a week.
“About 65% of our residents are not funded to the
amount they need to be appropriate to their dependency, so with that, it’s the
privately-funded residents that subsidise the gap.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was tackling the situation with a promise to boost funding by about £4.6bn by
2028-29.
“We are also creating a National Care Service, based on
higher quality of care, greater choice and control, and joined-up neighbourhood
services,” a spokesperson added.
