A family-run care home is facing\u00a0extra staffing costs of \u00a370,000 because of Budget measures which amount to \u201cdiscrimination against older people\u201d, it\u2019s claimed.<\/p>\n
Bosses at the Orme View Residential Home\u00a0on the\u00a0picturesque\u00a0West Shore of\u00a0Llandudno\u00a0have painted a gloomy picture of what the\u00a0increases will mean to the\u00a0social\u00a0care sector\u00a0\u2013 and to the\u00a0bed-blocking crisis within the\u00a0NHS.<\/p>\n
Steffan Robbins, who\u00a0manages and owns the home with his wife Bethany, supported by his mum and dad, Ian and\u00a0Carol-lynn,\u00a0warned the extra burden will force a number of care homes to close.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, he said, many older owners will be tempted to sell-up and get out of social care because of the \u201cludicrous\u201d policies imposed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n
The family are backing a campaign by\u00a0Care Forum Wales\u00a0(CFW) calling for social care to receive an NHS-style exemption from the National Insurance increases or emergency financial support to stop care homes and domiciliary care companies going bust.<\/p>\n
With a 1.2 per cent rise in Employer National Insurance contributions and a cut to the Secondary Threshold to \u00a35,000 alongside the five per cent increase in the Real Living Wage to \u00a312.60 per hour which, according to CFW, amounts to a \u201cwhopping 37 % increase\u201d.<\/p>\n
Taken together, the Budget measure added up to a giant \u00a3150 million funding gap in Wales.<\/p>\n
The looming crisis has spurred CFW to launch its Save Social Care, Save the NHS campaign to highlight the\u00a0problem, and the campaign is winning support from care home owners throughout Wales.<\/p>\n
CFW chair Mario Kreft MBE said: \u201cThis disastrous Budget is tantamount to discrimination against vulnerable elderly people and promotes inequality.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this comes against a backdrop of the post code lottery of fees which means there are widely varying rates across Wales for providing the same level of care which is subject to the same regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis unfair and unjust extra cost can only have negative consequences \u2013 unintended or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The owners of Orme View Residential Home have added their support to the campaign \u2013 and warned care homes could close down unless\u00a0urgent action was taken to exempt social care from the National Insurance hikes.<\/p>\n
They took over the home, which has 14 residents,\u00a0two years ago\u00a0and employs three full-time and 17 part-time workers.<\/p>\n
Steffan said: \u201cOur staffing costs for this financial year were\u00a0\u00a3320,000 and going into next year the costs will be about \u00a3390,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat extra \u00a370,000 comes from the National Insurance and wage\u00a0increases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u00a0also factors in\u00a0features of\u00a0the Employment Rights Bill\u00a0which is going through at the moment such as day one sickness rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo put it into context, we pay the Real Living Wage plus 60p, and this year our National Insurance\u00a0contribution is about \u00a320,000, and next year it will be about \u00a340,000 \u2013 so it will have doubled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steffan said the care sector relied on a large workforce, and regulations meant staffing levels could not be reduced.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe regulations are the regulations, and we have to conform to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would happily sit down with anyone and ask them what fat do I trim. Do we have less heating on, do we have less food, do we have less staff?<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of those is a viable option.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not a multi-national company with lots of middle tier management, we are a very leanly-run, family-orientated business.\u00a0We are here every day, living and breathing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all already had an indication the National Insurance contributions would go up to 15 per cent, so we were prepared for that as providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the biggest impact on us was dropping the threshold to \u00a35,000 because the majority of our workforce are part-time who were previously exempt, so we are now having to pay a lot more in National Insurance than we did previously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steffan explained that while the Government had made the decision to increase National Insurance contributions and the\u00a0Real Living Wage, it would be local councils who would be facing the extra costs as care homes increased their fees\u00a0to try to cover the shortfall.<\/p>\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cIt puts us in a very difficult position because we have to try to balance the ability to keep delivering the service that\u2019s available without also increasing our fees beyond a reasonable amount \u2013 and that\u2019s becoming an impossible task.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use local providers, such as local\u00a0butcher\u2019s, and they have already given an indication they will be passing their costs on to us, and I understand entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said homes were already charging top-up fees\u00a0from families and friends\u00a0to cover the costs of care in residential homes to ensure they remained\u00a0financially\u00a0viable, and that\u2019s before they have to contend with the additional costs caused\u00a0by the Budget.<\/p>\n
Steffan said: \u201cI think the extra costs are\u00a0ludicrous. You have a sector which is already under pressure which has had to increase costs\u00a0and you\u2019re now adding an additional taxation on to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is not a single home in the county of Conwy that I know that is not charging a top-up at the moment\u00a0\u2013 and we\u2019re the best paid county in North Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u00a0you then take that concept across the whole of Wales and you\u2019re going to see home closures.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you look at the demographic of providers in terms of age group,\u00a0they are all pushing\u00a0towards\u00a0the older age\u00a0group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are going to retire early, they will sell their stock, because people are not going to buy into\u00a0the care sector because it\u2019s such a difficult area to run at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steffan, a nurse by trade,\u00a0warned the Chancellor\u2019s Budget measures would have wide-ranging impacts on the social care sector \u2013 and ultimately the NHS which is already facing a bed-blocking crisis.<\/p>\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cI support Care Forum Wales\u2019s Save Social Care, Save the NHS campaign because delayed discharges are contributing to so many critical incidents reported to health boards.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the care sector falls, our health service falls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kreft added: \u201cThe former First Minister, Mark Drakeford, described social care as the \u2018scaffold that holds up the NHS\u2019 and losing care settings would be a disaster, not just for the vulnerable individuals for whom we care and our dedicated workforce, but also for hospitals across Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changes, which amount to a tax on care, threaten to become a national emergency which is why our campaign, Save Social Care, Save the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n