Care home providers continue to charge residents their Care Home fees even when in hospital.

Care home residents who are sick and unwell are being deprived of approximately £700.00 per week (or whatever their Care Home fees are) for rooms and services they do not use as they are unwell in hospital.

Elderly people are being charged for their board, food, laundry, energy usage and their daily nursing even though they never receive it as they are in hospital — allowing Care home providers to take the money and bank it normally and add to their profits.

According to recent figures there are in excess of 400,000 Care home residents in the UK. Official NHS figures show that more than 5 million who are 65+ were admitted to hospital during 2011, and spent an average of 10 days bed-ridden. Figures also say that 80,000 stayed longer than a month.

These figures do not show how many of these were care home residents.

Care home providers do not have to give their residents any refund, even when spend weeks in hospital, the fees continue to be charged. And even if care home residents do ask for a refund, it is often not granted or approved.

The charity Age UK suggests you seek advice from the care home management if you are in hospital for a long time, as it’s all down to their discretion. And recent reports say that elderly people had to pay as much as £8.7 billion from their life savings to pay for care last year (2011) — £380 million more than in 2010, again this is according to the charity Age UK.

A government-commissioned study found 1 in 10 OAPs in care spends more than £100,000 in fees. Care Home bills are allowed to increase because the state only offers funding to those with less than £23,500 in savings or even equity in the home they own and have lived in nearly all their life.

In a very short period the £37,000 a year average nursing home fees can quickly drain a pensioner’s life savings, and approximately 20,000 people each year are forced to sell their house. And this is expected to only continue. Private care spending is expected to increase yet again and rise another £2.2 billion a year by 2015.

When care home residents do sadly have to go into hospital, most do not expect a full refund for their fees. They understand that their rent still needs to be paid, as well as a service charge. But many care homes still demand residents pay the full cost, including meals etc.

The care home providers say that even if the residents are hospitalised they still continue to face significant fixed costs, such as staffing and energy, even if a room is empty.

As of early 2012, Care home providers such as Bupa who run 300 care homes, have no official fee policy on hospitalisation, but make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. However, the reduction is small.

And industry experts warn the situation will only worsen as the population ages. Life expectancy for those reaching pensionable age hit 84 this year (2012), with the over-65s set to shoot past 16 million over the next 20-30 years.