An inquiry into the death if an 88-year-old woman who died less than two weeks after being moved to a new care home because the council could not afford to pay her fees, has recommended the government launch a national independent review of social care funding.
Violet Townsend died in February after she was moved from Magdalen House in Gloucester, her home for eight years, because Gloucestershire council could not afford to increase by £79 the £374.50 fee per week it was paying to home owner Gloucester Charities.
The inquiry team, which was established by the council, concludes that the funding for residential and nursing care “has not kept pace with the growth in the market resulting from improved healthcare and subsequent changes in demography including longer life expectancy”.
It warns that the “council may be priced out of the market unless additional funds are available” to pay the fees required to attract private capital investment in new homes, and recommends that the inquiry findings be submitted to health secretary John Reid.
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