Elderly forced out of Gwynedd communities amid care stand-off

North Wales Chronicle

4 hours ago

Kevin Edwards, managing director at the Meddyg Care Group, claimed a health board is refusing to cover the 'true cost' of services provided at his care homes in Porthmadog and Criccieth, meaning people are going to homes further afield.
However, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) has insisted that it is 'committed' to providing care for people across North Wales 'as close to home as is clinically safe'.
It also argued that it provides many care packages 'well beyond' its core funding rates based on clinical need.
Mr Edwards claimed: 'Because we won't accept their base cost, they are not recommending our homes to Gwynedd families.'
He claimed this meant some were ending up in homes far from their communities, and the support of their friends and relatives.
The health board has responded by saying it is not legally allowed to recommend which homes people choose.
He pointed to the difference between what care homes in rural Gwynedd needed, and the fee the health board was willing to pay, was between £40 and £80 per week per resident.
'NHS care should be free to people who need it in their local area, but people are being forced out of the area because homes in rural Gwynedd will not accept the basic fee BCUHB is prepared to pay,' he said.
He added that his home provided care through the medium of Welsh but added if people go further afield that may not be the case.
'BCUHB do the costings on their fee, in my view, on the back of a fag packet,' he said and urged the board to adopt a toolkit used to set care funding fees, called CareCubed.
'How can our costs in a rural setting be the same as a home in an urban setting, somewhere in the middle of Rhyl, Llandudno, or Wrexham for instance?' He added.
Mario Kreft MBE, chair of social care champions Care Forum Wales, said: 'One of the most important things for families is the location of the home where their loved ones will be living.
'The vast majority of people choose a care home in a community where they want to be in, it's so important.
'This issue highlights what we are facing in North Wales, and that's a health board which has been promising methodology for more than a decade.
'They should be meeting government guidance on this, it's outrageous that they are not.'
He added it caused 'further anxiety' to future residents and families, delaying hospital discharges, and saw people taken to parts of the country they don't want to be in, and highlighted a north-south divide over fees.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's Chief Operating Officer Tehmeena Ajmal said: 'We are committed to providing care for people across North Wales as close to home as is clinically safe.
'We understand that these are challenging times for everyone, and we must ensure that our resources are used fairly and appropriately for all.
'For people who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), each person receives an individual assessment. Many people are supported with care packages that go well beyond our published core funding rate, based on their clinical needs.
'It's important to note that we are not legally allowed to recommend which care home families should choose. We must remain fair and cannot show preference for one independent provider over another.
'We continue to admit patients into all nursing care homes in Gwynedd. Currently, there are only very small numbers of people in hospitals waiting for placements in EMI (Elderly Mentally Infirm) nursing care homes.
'We are fully committed to making sure people can receive care in the Welsh language, and—where possible—stay close to their communities, families, and friends.
'These are all important factors when we agree on care placements and funding.
'As a region, we have reviewed a number of fee-setting tools, including CareCubed, which several local authorities have started using.
'We are working closely with them to review and assess this approach.'