Care for a single resident costs Dorset Council nearly £900,000
It was revealed during a debate on Dorset council's likely overspend this year
Dorset Council is paying almost £900,000 a year for 24/7 care for at least one local resident.
Sherborne councillor Robin Legg claims many people will be shocked to discover the cost being met by their council tax.
“If you went out onto the streets and told people we were paying nearly £1million a year for an individual’s care, they would question if we are doing things properly,” he told a people and health scrutiny committee meeting.
The figure, at £17,000 a week, was produced as an example of how expensive care can be during a debate on the council’s likely overspend this year on its adult social care budget.
Councillors were told that not only was the county seeing an increase in the number of people needing care and support – but there was also an increase in more expensive, specialist care, often only provided by agencies, or specialist providers.
Most of those who need care in the county self-fund their care packages although around a third, who have less than £23,250 in assets, can come to Dorset Council and the NHS for help, depending on their specific needs.
Cllr Legg sought assurances that Dorset Council was lobbying the Government for extra financial help, which he was told was happening.
He said that from his calculations routine care costs had risen from £14.10 per hour in 2019 to £16.40 an hour in 2021, while support for people with learning difficulties was more expensive and had gone up by 28% over the same period, with mental health support costs rising by 48% – and in each case even more expensive if provided through an agency.
The Sherborne councillor said he was also concerned that workers were continuing to leave the care sector, knowing they were likely to find better pay elsewhere, and very little seemed to be underway to resolve the situation.