Care home costs are outstripping some pensioner’s incomes for the first time in three years according to recently released new figures.
Fees are now as high as £34,000 per year – which broken down is £2,833.33 over 12 months – in some areas of the UK.
The average annual bill for a single bed in a care home is said to be £29,389 – this is a rise of £723 in a year. It means that care home costs are twice income levels – currently this stands at £14,300.
This report highlights how expensive care homes are becoming and whether – depending on the level of care required – independent living with the help of aids such as domestic lifts, can be a more viable solution. A lift will not provide the full service that a care home can but if climbing the stairs is the main issue it is an ideal alternative.
For example, the Stiltz Duo Lift starts at £11,950 plus VAT – including all standard site preparation and installation costs – which is potentially a third of what it would cost to live in a care home over a year. Buying a home lift is also a ‘one off cost’ with only an annual service required.
The biggest price rise in care home fees was in the East of England which is now the most expensive region for care homes at £33,800 – a rise of 10 per cent year on year. This is even more expensive than the average prices in London where the cost of living is higher.
The research, by Prestige Nursing + Care, found that pensioners incomes rose by 2.2 per cent in the last year but care home fees outstripped this by 2.5 per cent.
Around 350,000 older people live in residential care in England in the UK but, with care home costs spiralling out of control, many may now be looking at options that allow for independent living at home.
If the individual uses a wheelchair, Stiltz also offers a lift that is bigger enough to fit a standard-sized wheelchair called the Stiltz Trio Lift. This is a fraction more expensive than the Duo at £12,950 but with all the same fantastic benefits.