'Shameful' £5k/yr funding cut for home residents with complex care

HEALTH bosses in North Wales have been blasted for a "travesty" that cuts funding by more than £5,000 a year for care home residents receiving complex nursing care.

- By STEVE BAGNALL

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board is paying less for patients in Conwy who need the most complex nursing care, despite them receiving round-the-clock support - including end-of-life-care - from highly qualified staff, it has been claimed.

BCUHB chiefs say fees have been uplifted to all care providers, with the rate set across the six Local Authority areas. However they acknowledge there are"challenges within the care home sector", with a range of options to strengthen the fee setting processes, being explored.

According to Kevin Jones, who has run the 38-bedroom Bryn Marl Care Home in Llandudno Junction for the past five years, the situation is "scandalous" and he said it exposed a postcode lottery in how care is funded.

The six North Wales local authorities pay among the lowest fees in Wales but Conwy Council broke ranks and increased their funding to a level that makes them the sixth most generous in Wales. New port Council tops the table but Conwy's neighbours Denbighshire are 21st and Gwynedd 20th with Wrexham Council rock bottom in 22nd place.

The majority of care home residents who need nursing care are on Funded Nursing Care (FNC) paid by local councils who are then reimbursed by the relevant health board.

But when a resident's needs become more acute and complex they move to a different care package Continuing Health Care (CHC) paid directly by the health board.

When Conwy Council increased their FNC funding they actually overtook the CHC fees provided by the Betsi Board.