23/08/2016
If you had the choice between living at home or moving into a care home as you got older, what would you choose? The majority of people, when asked if they would choose to remain in their own home or move to a care home as they aged, chose to stay in their own homes. In fact a staggering 97% indicated that they would prefer their own homes to a care home.
Recently an article published in the Telegraph newspaper showed that the price of care homes in the UK had risen and had reached an average of £34,000 per year in some areas. Costs have increased by up to 10% in parts of Britain. This is bound to have an impact of the 350,000 plus elderly people living in residential care.
The average cost of a single room in a residential care home is almost £30,000 per annum, increasing by around £723.00 each year. A survey undertaken recently showed that pensioner incomes which rise at a rate of 2.2% per year are just not capable of keeping up with this rise. The Managing Director of Prestige Nursing and Care stated recently that care home prices are rising faster than ever, and have risen more than pensioners incomes for the first time in three years.
While there are plenty of advantages to staying in your own home as opposed to a care home, financially it becomes a better choice now. It is of course wonderful to be able to stay in your own home with your own possessions around you. Independence can be maintained as long as possible, pets can stay with a person and home help can be arranged to take care of the daily running of a home.
With live in care the costs will vary depending on the area and of course the needs of each client. However these costs will more than likely be less than the cost of relocating to care home. With live in care the service can be tailored to suit each individual.
One live in care company was recently quoted as saying that for a single client, the charge for live in care is typically less than residential care home costs. For a couple who wish to remain at home, it is possible that they could both be cared for with considerable less cost to themselves.
Taking into account the rising costs of residential care and the obvious advantages of staying in your own home, it is easy to see why live in care is fast becoming the preferred alternative to relocating to a care home as we age.
