Care Fees and finance
At Elderholme Nursing Home we welcome residents from both private and public funding streams.
As a not-for-profit charity we are always mindful of setting our fees at a level where we can balance our priorities of providing compliant, professional, and compassionate care with maintaining a sustainable financial position to enable us to invest in the growth of our services and make provision for future challenges.
Our fees are structured to support higher than average staffing levels, which we believe are necessary to ensure our residents’ mental, physical and spiritual needs are met. We specialise in delivering a high standard of nursing care for residents with complex medical conditions, where certain specialised skillsets are often required.
What is covered by our fees
Our weekly fees include:
24 hour routine care and assistance with personal care
Bedroom and access to all facilities
Standard furniture and nursing equipment
Heating and electricity costs
Meals, snacks and drinks prepared by our kitchen daily
Housekeeping and laundry services
Activities and trips outside of the home
Wi-Fi network
Arrangement of care and service on behalf of the resident with any outside agencies such as GP surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals and district nurses
Completion, updating and storage of all care documentation and any other items expected to be a part of day to day living and medical care
What is not included
Personal items such as toiletries, flowers, newspapers, beauty treatments
Hairdressing, chiropodist, optician and physio services are available at additional fee
Residents clothing
Specialised seating or equipment ‘made to measure’ or specific condition
Nursing care
Additional 1-2-1 care
Medical consumables
Private transport to attend appointments
Escort of our staff to appointments and outings
Meals during trips out
How we set our fees
We set our fees on a case-by-case basis based on individuals’ nursing and care needs.
The final weekly fee rate will be confirmed after a Pre-admission assessment is carried out, enabling the Registered Manager to thoroughly assess the individual’s care and support needs and confirm that we can fully meet their requirements.
It is often the case that a resident’s care needs change during their stay, and it may be necessary to review the suitability of the room and support services in place, which may result in a revised fee to cover any increased levels of care.
Fee reviews
As an independent not-for-profit charity we are entirely dependent on fee income from resident care packages and donations, with no subsidies or investor support. The charity trustees regularly monitor and review the financial status of the home, and if they feel it is prudent to increase the weekly tariffs to maintain financial viability, they will do by as small an amount as is possible. Any increases will be communicated to residents and their families at least four weeks in advance of any increase.
There are a number of funding streams open to residents, depending on their circumstances. Often funding options can change over time, depending on residents financial situation and/or health condition. We ask all self-funding residents to keep us updated about their ability to pay, so that if their circumstances change so we can assist in approaching the relevant authorities to review what financial support may be available.
The main funding types:
Self-funding
This category applies to residents who have assets up to a certain value and are assessed as able to cover care fees themselves. The fee has to be cofirmed with the Home Manager following a pre-admission assessment (depending on the type of room chosen and needs of the resident). If nursing care is required, this element of the fee is normally received from the NHS following a health needs assessment.
NHS Continuing Healthcare
NHS Continuing Healthcare, also known as CHC funding, will cover all care fees subject to evidencing high nursing needs on the assessment completed by the NHS assessors despite individual financial circumstances.
Local Authority funding
This type of funding may not cover the full weekly fee needed to cover cost of care for an individual, and in order to secure the place or remain in the home, the resident may have to arrange a third party contribution or ‘top up’. The top up must be paid by another person, usually a relative or next of kin. This is because the main payment is made out of public funds and covers only standard care provision rather than the cost of care required to provide our standard level of care for each resident.
Payments
We do not charge a deposit to secure a place at Elderholme, however we do require payments to be made promptly within 30 days of receiving an invoice from us.
As the preferred option we advise setting up a monthly standing order on admission, which can be updated in the event of any fee changes. We can also accept payments by cheque or bank transfer.