Care home bills could soar by a fifth as hard-pressed social care bosses try to claw back costs.
Aberdeenshire Council’s communities committee is looking at a number of proposals to help recoup the full costs from their residential facilities over the next four years.
Among options being considered is a £140 hike in fees and charges for residents who pay for council-run care from £775 to £915, phased in over three years.
Officials say imposing the increase on the 80-plus residents in that category at present would net it more than £190,000 extra in the first year alone.
The proposals emerged from a report which was discussed by the council’s integration joint board, which also includes NHS Grampian representatives, ahead of the communities meeting next month.
It comes a year after the authority had to perform a U-turn on proposals which had left some sheltered housing residents in the region facing bills of an extra £1,000 a month.
Days ago council bosses were branded “Scrooge-like” after it was revealed they would consider cost-cutting plans to axe Christmas presents for care home residents.
North-east MSP Lewis Macdonald said he sympathised with the authority’s difficult financial position but warned it could be hit with a backlash. He said: “That’s a big extra sum for people when it’s added up over a number of weeks.
“I think the council could find they receive a similar reaction to last year with these proposals as this is the most vulnerable people who are going to be affected.
“Having said that, every council is facing tough decisions over the next few months because of the shortfall in funding from central government.”
The report acknowledges last year’s outcry and calls for lessons to be learned through a “carefully planned communication strategy”.
Councillor Anne Stirling, chairwoman of the integration joint board and communities committees, said: “In recent years we have seen a number of factors affecting social care budgets and our recommendations are intended to make charges as fair and equitable as possible at the same time as recognising the need to recover more of the costs associated with delivering these services.
“If agreed by communities committee when they meet in December, extensive discussion with the people who are supported by care services and their wider network will take place in the new year.”
The committee will meet to discuss the proposals on December 21.
Neil Duncan-Jordan of the National Pensioners Convention said: “Most families will be angry that this problem with social care is being kicked into the long grass by politicians.
“The government has promised a green paper in the summer but that is still eight months away.
“A lot of people are pretty desperate going through their savings every week and most people don’t realise it can cost nearly £1,000 a week for some people. It’s eye-watering.
“It’s a huge amount of money and I think those who are affected will find it extremely unfair.”
Keith Robson at Age Scotland said: “Any increase in council home charges should reflect the additional costs of providing care, and not simply be used to plug funding gaps that exist elsewhere.
“Many people in need of care who have savings and aren’t entitled to council funding and can’t defer payment of their fees face additional charges.”
