How Much Does Home Care Cost?
When it comes to care, there is a direct corelation between the price you are asked to pay and the quality of care you will receive. Wherever “bargain” basement prices are offered, you should always verify that this does not translate to low quality care
How does price affect quality in home care?
How do you assess if you are paying the right price for the care that is being offered? As with everything in life you generally pay more for higher quality. You need to have a good understanding of the general prices that providers offer, and how the price relates to the quality of service.
Typical hourly rates and how they are calculated
The Real Living Wage is £9.50 p/h (£10.85 in London)
Carers wages must also include national insurance contributions, holiday allowance, PPE costs, transport support and other costs.
Care companies then factor in the cost of operating which includes recruitment costs, admin costs, training costs, care management systems and audit costs.
Companies that pay their staff well, get higher quality training and fund staff development, will have to charge more.
The average cost of care
The cost of care can vary based upon the following factors:
The area being serviced – driving distance for carers
The duration of the visits – the shorter the visits the more expensive they will be per hour
The activities to be provided – specialist care requires more senior, highly trained carers that are paid at a higher rate
Why does the price matter?
For care in particular, price is very indictive of quality, the more you pay to more likely you will get better service. There are many care businesses in operation, which can result in a race to the bottom in price, however, the quality of the service suffers at these lower rates.
If the prices are too low, it could mean the company does not look after their staff well and hence, the staff are less motivated to come to work. It may seem better in the short run to save on the money, however, it is likely you will spend much more time micro-managing the provider. In the long run, the higher quality company will provide you with better value.
How do you factor price in provider selection?
Price is important, but it should not be the only element in your decision, it should be used alongside a range of factors including reviews, responsiveness of the management, quality of the website and more when evaluating providers.
or a full guide on how to evaluate providers, read our blog post: How to Select a Private Care Provider (winservecare.co.uk)
