Powys dubbed care funding 'cheapskates'

The forum revealed that care homes in Powys receive the lowest funding per person than anywhere else in the country.

According to Care Forum Wales chairman Mario Kreft the huge gulf between the top and the bottom payers was evidence of an unfair postcode lottery.

Mr Kreft said: “The aim of the Cheapskate Awards is to highlight the really serious problems created by a crazy fee structure here in Wales.

“Are vulnerable people in Cardiff really worth £12,000 a year more than equally fragile people in Powys?

“We were seeing care homes and nursing homes closing across Wales even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is hard to see how many care providers can continue in business with fees at this level.”

Mr Kreft said that he wanted to see a “national action plan” produced to sort out the “hotch podge” of fees.

“Social care should not be seen as a cost to society but rather as an asset that represents all that is best in our nation,” added Mr Kreft.

Powys director of social service Alison Bulman said it was very disappointing to see this league table.

She believed that “reality” is not reflected in Care Forum Wales’ figures.

In 2017, the council had looked at account of care home providers when finance rates were last agreed.

Ms Bulman, said: “This exercise was based on verifiable data for all aspects of care home costs.Many of the more rural councils do not compare well in their league table.

“It’s well known that in cities and larger towns you tend to have larger homes with a larger number of potential customers.

“This will always have an impact on price.”

She added that the council had also seen massive cuts to its budget over the last decade.

This has an impact on how much money the council has been able to afford to spend on its services, including social care.

Ms Bulman also believed that some care home providers had increased their prices by 20 per cent “or more” from 2017 and this was not reflected in the forum’s assessment.

“We support the notion of a national conversation with governments and the industry, however a crude table like this doesn’t really help anyone,” said Ms Bulman.

A weekly fee for a person in a residential Elderly Mentally Infirm care home for older people with mental frailty is £559 a week in Powys.

In Cardiff the payment is £793.48 a week for providing exactly the same level of service.