10.05.11
‘Further improvements’ made for care home residents
An independent evaluation by The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on the impact of its 2005 market study into care homes for older people shows significant improvements in the provision of information and advice for older people.
First Stop Advice, a ‘one stop shop’ for advice and information, was launched in 2008 in response to the OFT’s 2005 recommendations. It aims to provide older people, their families and carers with comprehensive advice and information on issues they may need to address around housing, care, money and rights.
Research carried out by leading independent multi-disciplinary consultancy, GHK, also found that 94% of care homes say they provide residents with a contract or statement of terms and conditions, compared to 82% six years ago. The study revealed that 90% of mystery shopper callers were able to obtain information on fee levels, and 79% of care homes surveyed now report that they provide detailed price lists to prospective residents.
Overall, GHK estimates the quantifiable benefits to consumers from the market study to be in the region of £6-10m per year, with further evidence of other, non-quantifiable, benefits including on information provided to consumers.
However, only 60% of care homes are providing information to residents on complaints procedures. Consumer awareness of relevant information like inspection reports, contracts and other sources of information when deciding on a care home also need to be evaluated.
OFT chief economist Amelia Fletcher said: “Our evidence points to general improvements, following our study, in the provision of information to residents or family members making a decision to choose a particular care home. With increasing rates of disability and dependence amongst care home residents, it is more important than ever that information is both clear and provided upfront. We look forward to discussing our findings with providers, regulators and other groups to ensure that further improvements are made.”
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