According to new research, paying privately for a care home is now the norm rather than the exception for families across the UK.
Data from carehome.co.uk suggests that many people are simply ineligible for public funding, are unaware of it, or are forced to self-fund while waiting for assessments or decisions.
Sixty two per cent of people enquiring about care expect to pay for it themselves, despite the availability of NHS and local authority funding.
The data also reveals a clear regional divide, with nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of care seekers in South East and South West England self-funding their care, compared with 46 per cent in Scotland, 50 per cent in North East England and 55 per cent in Wales.
The data highlights stark regional inequalities in access to NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) – the only form of care funding that is not means tested and fully covers social care costs for adults with complex health needs. More than one in ten (11 per cent) care seekers in North East England and 10 per cent in North West England expect NHS CHC to pay for their care, while just five per cent of people in South East, South West, and East of England expect to receive this support.
In response to the findings, Lisa Morgan, head of the nursing care fee recovery team at law firm Hugh James, said: “These findings are deeply troubling but, sadly, what families experience every day. Too often, people end up paying privately for care because funding is delayed, unclear or never properly explored. Families regularly seek advice exhausted and distressed, having been told there is ‘no funding available’ or left to self-fund for months while they wait for assessments or decisions.
“Even where local authority funding is available, it often falls short of the true cost of care. Families are regularly asked to pay top-up fees unlawfully, without being offered a genuine alternative placement that meets assessed needs within the authority’s budget, as the law requires. What should be the exception has become routine.
“Earlier intervention is critical. Proper assessments before placements are made, transparent decision-making and access to specialist advice from the outset are essential if the financial burden of care is to sit with the public bodies legally responsible for funding it.”
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Matt Seex, Editor
