This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Private sector rejects care home package
12/03/2003
A package of nearly £80 million for the care home
sector, agreed between the Executive and the Convention of
Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), has today been rejected
by representatives of the private care home sector.
In a joint statement Deputy Health Minister Frank
McAveety and COSLA President Pat Watters said:
"We are angry and disappointed by Scottish Care's
decision. This is a generous deal offering a record
increase for care homes.
"We have made every effort to address the concerns of
the care providers and we thought we had struck a deal with
Scottish Care as recently as March 5. But they failed to
honour their side of the agreement.
"Nevertheless, we have stood by our commitment to abide
by the National Review Group recommendations and make an
offer above the rate of inflation to the independent care
sector.
"The Church and the Salvation Army have responded to
these efforts, and we are grateful to them. But the private
care home owners have walked away - not only from their
agreement to abide by the NRG report but from Scotland's
older people.
"We have no option but to withdraw from Scottish Care
our offer in its entirety. It will now be left for private
care home owners to negotiate directly with individual
local authorities with agreements taking affect from April
2003 and beyond.
"We strongly urge the private care home owners to
reconsider their decision. We have put on the table
significant extra resources which will let local
authorities, care homes and the Executive work in
partnership and make genuine strides towards our shared
goal - a stable future for the care home sector and a
choice of good quality care home services for Scotland's
older people.
"This offer was another example of local & central
government's commitment to Scotland's older people. Taking
it alongside the investment in free personal and nursing
care, we would have been delivering unprecedented resources
aimed at ensuring our older people receive appropriate
care, dignity and security in old age."
The offer, nearly £80 million of national and local
government funding, is aimed at implementing the
Executive's and COSLA's commitment to meet the
recommendations of the National Review Group set up in
September 2001 to look at fee levels in the independent
sector.
It provided for a one per cent real terms increase per
annum to the fees recommended by the expert review
group.
It would have meant that since July 2001, more than £130
million of additional public funding would have been
provided to the care home sector.
That would have allowed average fees in homes without
nursing care to rise from £260 a week in 2001 to £346 in
2003 - an increase of £86 or 33 per cent. In homes with
nursing care the fees would have risen from £336 to £406 -
an increase of £70 or nearly 21 per cent.
As a result of today's decisions, the new fee levels
will be the basis for fees to care homes run by the Church
of Scotland and the Salvation Army.
However, private care home providers will now need to
negotiate individually with local authorities.