A care charity who supports severely disabled people living in care homes has admitted they are being forced to evict residents due to the extortionate costs of care.
The Leonard Cheshire charity says that due to the continuously rising costs of care, it can no longer afford to support the 3000 people it currently subsidises.
The charity which provides various care homes across the UK has claimed that local authorities are simply not prepared to meet rising costs as council budgets are now at “breaking point”.
A spokesperson said: “Funding being allocated to providers like us is sometimes simply not keeping pace with the real costs of care in many cases."
The unfortunate situation has meant that the charity has had no choice but to seek eviction for some vulnerable residents with complex needs, because councils who fund the charity have not been prepared to meet rising fees in line with the increase in food, gas and energy prices.
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Google)According to the Guardian, the charity has served 11 eviction notices on contracts since February that were still under negotiation. It adds that two of these notices were revoked after the council agreed to meet the fee increase.
Nationally, about 12 of the charity’s residents face eviction.
A spokesman for Leonard Cheshire said: “Social care is a sector in crisis following years of chronic underfunding and the absence of meaningful long-term reform. Councils urgently need a cash injection from the government to address soaring costs and pressures affecting every provider.
“With council budgets squeezed to breaking point and further rationing of services on the horizon, funding being allocated to providers like us is sometimes simply not keeping pace with the real costs of care in many cases.
"Disabled people with complex needs should be able to access the care they require, without providers meeting shortfalls which isn’t sustainable.”
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Getty Images/iStockphoto)Calling for “greater understanding” of the need for higher quality care and the cost that comes with it, the spokesperson stressed that the charity would never evict someone unless there was no other viable alternative available. They always explore every option when offering their support to people with complex needs of all ages.
The spokesman added: “The Government must urgently ensure costs of care for working-age disabled people are fairly reflected in social care funding, so that those with complex needs are not potentially discriminated against by some authorities implementing local cost regimes that are out of step with reality.”
The charity, which supports disabled people in the UK and around the world, provides services for people with physical disabilities and learning disabilities and also residential nursing services for those with more complex needs.
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Getty Images)Jackie O’Sullivan, communication director of Mencap, which supports people with learning disabilities, told BBC News: “We have known that social care is in trouble and we have known that it is not properly funded for quite a while now. This is really the sign that it really is fracturing and ultimately the people who need care and rely on care are suffering.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have prioritised health and social care in the autumn statement, with up to £7.5 billion available over the next two years to support adult social care services and improve access to care for the most vulnerable in our society – the biggest funding increase in history.
“Our annual domestic recruitment campaign, Made With Care, is encouraging people to take up a career in adult social care and we are also investing £15 million to increase international recruitment.”