Care Home Families Hit With A £200 Monthly PPE ‘Surcharge'

Relatives slam demand on private residents as ‘greedy’

- Martin Fricker

A care homes operator has been branded “greedy” for telling relatives of private residents to pay almost £200 more a month to cover coronavirus-related costs.

Agincare sent around 300 families already paying in the region of £4,000 a month an invoice for a “PPE surcharge” of £6.47 per day for April.

It came on top of a 5% increase in fees from last month – and they have been warned they face the same bill monthly until the pandemic eases.

But families said the cost for April was unjustified as staff only got the PPE on April 15. And one relative said they got a bill despite her elderly aunt dying almost two months ago. Family-run Agincare is based in Dorset, owns 20 homes and made a profit of £2.36million in 2018.

Jan Urquijo, whose 93-year-old mum Pauline pays £939 a week at Bournemouth’s Blenheim home, was “horrified” at its demands.

She said: “The care industry is not losing money like other businesses.

“They are still getting their money every month, whether from individuals, social services or the NHS.