There are two solutions to the nursing home crisis. Make them state owned and free like the rest of the NHS or be glad that people are using their lifetime wealth to pay for comfort in their final years - life expectancy in a home is about 2.5yrs bit.ly/3PhRziG - ThreadSky

paullewismoney.bsky.social • 67 days ago

There are two solutions to the nursing home crisis. Make them state owned and free like the rest of the NHS or be glad that people are using their lifetime wealth to pay for comfort in their final years - life expectancy in a home is about 2.5yrs https://bit.ly/3PhRziG

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synvuk.bsky.social•67 days ago

Care home fees are exorbitant and even my parents' accumulated wealth over a lifetime of work savings and investment is only enough to last 20-months. They were both public sector and then sole business owners.
Any solution at this stage would be better than what exists now.

musicienne.bsky.social•67 days ago

They should never have been sold off. There are a few that are run on a not-for-profit basis. That would be preferable. The private homes - the large chains - make millions in profit. And the care is only adequate at best.

peakypolly.bsky.social•67 days ago

Thing is Paul, it's definitely not a case of "you get what you pay for" with care homes. The fees are huge. Sadly, in a lot of them, the care and food quality does not reflect this.

simonsays1.bsky.social•67 days ago

Or a hybrid as per the Dilnot Report. Charge people say £100k each and the NHS pays the rest. The £100k then becomes insurable.

neiljl.bsky.social•67 days ago

That will effect the less wealthy more with most, if not all of their savings or house value taken
For wealthy people £100,000 would be a much smaller percentage of their total wealth
Fairer to have inheritance tax on all estates to pay for care, starting around 10%, rising to 40%

simonsays1.bsky.social•66 days ago

That’s true, it’s regressive. But to start with a simple rule seems sensible so that people understand it. What would be perceived as fair?

neiljl.bsky.social•66 days ago

Fairer to have inheritance tax on all estates to pay for care, starting around 10%, rising to 40%
Wealthy estates would pay more

simonsays1.bsky.social•65 days ago

Yes that sounds simple and fair. So possibly a popular idea. Also adding bands to IHT might make it more popular.

karaina.bsky.social•67 days ago

When I lost my Mum to COVID in 2021 care home costs was one of the things that made me most angry. The care home owners had just used her life savings to add to their asset management profits, bonuses and dividends. My Mum worked full time from age 14 to 74.

loreleiking.bsky.social•66 days ago

The fact that successive governments have refused to grasp the nettle of social care is disgraceful.

da1sy-alexander.bsky.social•67 days ago

With the numbers of adults who neither own a home nor have savings, this problem will inevitably become a growing problem for the government.

thornfieldhall.bsky.social•67 days ago

It's not the paying for comfort I object to. Mum's care home was £76k a year. It was the fact that the staff were on minimum wage whilst private equity/CEOs were creaming off millions and siphoning it off into tax havens. It's the same in the children's care sector - greedy profiteering.

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