The scale of care home fees seems to be under constant scrutiny. Not surprisingly, everyone from the CQC, to the media, to potential residents seeks reassurance that the fees charged are fair. But what do we mean by ‘fair’?
The plain fact is that delivering high quality residential and nursing care can never be cheap. Operating and staffing costs will always be substantial. So the key issue is value. Are charges justifiable when you consider the standard of care and facilities on offer?
Fees And Ratings
There’s a clear correlation between homes that charge higher fees and the number with a good or outstanding CQC rating. There’s no surprise here. With more cash you are in a position to deliver better care. A home charging high fees and not delivering high standards of safe person-centred care clearly isn’t delivering value for money.
And while the CQC doesn’t comment directly on the level of fees, they are most definitely interested in what homes deliver in return. They expect to see a well run home, staffed with an appropriate number of well-trained personnel and with facilities maintained to a high standard.
Efficient Systems
The tools and systems that keep a care home running affect the value for money equation. While it may be possible to consistently deliver high standards of care with inefficient operating systems and management tools, it’s not a scenario we’ve ever seen in practice.
Manual paper-based systems are certainly not a cost-effective way to deliver high standards. Neither are they foolproof. It’s like a leaky boat: it stays afloat only with a lot of frantic baling out.
Prioritising Delivery
To deliver the standards of care that justify high fees you need as much time and resource as possible to be directed at delivery. Admin and paperwork add no value. ‘Value’ flows from robust processes and reporting that need next to no human effort to keep them running.
If you invest in a care management system like KareInn you can be confident that you’re not wasting time and money on low-value admin. You’ll also have a secure foundation on which to build even higher standards of care delivery – and be confident that that’s where residents’ fees are going. This seems fair, by anyone’s assessment.
If you’d like to see how KareInn could improve your care management, book your demo.
