A “TERRIBLE TEN” local authorities who pay the lowest care home fees in Wales have been named and shamed – including Denbighshire. According to industry champions Care Forum Wales (CFW), care homes are the victims of an untenable post code lottery which means they’re paid wildly differing fees depending on which county they are in. CFW chair Mario Kreft MBE is calling for an urgent shake-up of the system once the new Welsh Government is place after the election on May 6, with a new national fee structure that is fair to all. The organisation, which represents nearly 500 independent social care providers across Wales, is awarding wooden spoons to the ten worst payers as part of the second annual Cheapskate Awards.
FLINTSHIRE and Wrexham Councils have defended their support for care homes after being included in a league of shame by Care Forum Wales. A “terrible ten” local authorities who pay the lowest care home fees in Wales have been named and shamed – including five of the six councils in North Wales. According to industry champions Care Forum Wales (CFW), care homes are the victims of an untenable post code lottery which means they are paid wildly differing fees depending on which county they are in. Flintshire and Wrexham were sixth and eighth in the list. Flintshire Council agreed that social care funding in Wales and across the UK needs to be greatly increased and be sustained into the future.
CFW have illustrated the point by publishing a “league of shame” highlighting the massive chasm between the top and bottom local authorities. Right at the foot of the table is Swansea where a 40-bed care home receives £230,000 less than a home in league leaders Torfaen in Gwent – or just over £5,700 per resident. The gulf is likely to be even wider in July when Cardiff Council publish their new rates because last year’s fees were higher than the increased payments announced in Gwent for 2021/22. Last year’s fees in Cardiff would still put them at the top of the table – the old rate in the capital is £1,600 a year more per resident than the new increased fee in Torfaen.