TrustedCare has carried out a study comparing the shift in weekly residential and nursing care fees over a 5-year period from 2017 to 2022. The online directory and referral platform of UK care services hold price data on 4,570 Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated care homes,
nursing homes, and home care providers.
Their findings show that residential care costs have risen by an eye-watering average of 57% over the past 5 years for individuals who are funding their own care. In 2017, the average cost of residential care quoted for a privately funded individual was £694 per week, while it now stands at £1,090 per week. Unsurprisingly, nursing home fees have also risen by an average of 33% from £928 in 2017 to £1,233 in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent inflationary pressures have seen many care home providers increase their prices more frequently, and at a higher rate than before the pandemic. In 2022 due to rising energy costs many care providers increased their fees at 6-month intervals rather than annually to ensure their services remained viable. Individuals who are funding their own care carried these costs as Local Authority fees did not rise at the same inflationary rate.
Where have residential and nursing home costs risen the most?
The North West has seen the biggest increase in residential and nursing care fees with a upsurge in residential fees and a 41% increase in nursing fees. The region, comprising counties Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside has seen average residential costs rise from £590 to £999 and nursing costs rise from £809 to £1,144 between 2017-2022. TrustedCare carried out another study observing how the quality of care has changed across the UK over the past 5 years; this showed that the average number of care homes and nursing homes in the North West rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) remained at 76% between 2017-2022.
The South East comes in second with a 63% increase in residential care costs followed by the West Midlands with 61%, East Midlands with 57% and Greater London with a 56% rise.
Although the average cost of care in Greater London has seen the smallest average increase, the cost of care in the region is still the highest in the UK. Residential care costs an average of £1,347 per week & nursing care costs an average of £1,465 per week in the county.
The cost of residential care is next highest in the South East (£1,254), followed by the South West (£1,155), East of England (£1,112) and the West Midlands (£1,059). Looking at the map, the average cost of care is generally higher in the South and gets lower the further North you
go, but how does this correlate with the quality of care?
As mentioned, Greater London currently holds the position of having the highest average weekly care fees in the UK. TrustedCare’s study on how the quality of care has evolved over the past 5 years showed that 82% of the region’s care homes and nursing homes were rated ‘Good’
or ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC. This puts them in 3rd place in terms of care quality, outdone by the South West with 86% and the North East with 85%.
Interestingly, despite having the lowest average care fees at £890 for residential and £952 for nursing in 2022, the North East is the second best in the UK for care quality. Does this make the North East the best region to find care?
Notes to Editor: –
– The TrustedCare.co.uk costs data is informed by their in-house CRM system. It covers 4,570 residential, nursing and home care providers inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
– Prices for services are provided by the care services themselves, listing their fees on the website and through our market research team.
– Please credit TrustedCare with having provided the source data for any content you
publish by linking to the TrustedCare website: https://www.trustedcare.co.uk/
About TrustedCare.co.uk: –
TrustedCare.co.uk is an online directory and national referral service for individuals who are seeking care for themselves or a loved one. We provide one of the most comprehensive guides to everything adult social care related and our Care Adviser team connects hundreds of care seekers with local care providers each month.
Our website contains hundreds of articles and advice guides covering everything from how to choose a care provider, to the funding support that may be available, supporting people in their search for care services.We hold a 5-star “Excellent” TrustPilot rating from hundreds of reviewers, making us the highest-rated social care service on the platform. Launched in late 2012 by Founder Mark Walford with the aim of creating the most comprehensive source of care service information in the UK to help care seekers, care providers and care influencers.
