no.257 • £4.75 incorporating
March 2018
The Number One magazine for the care sector
Provider in pledge to raise £100k for charities
Care group drops ‘after death’ fees By Dominic Musgrave
A CARE home provider running 64 care homes has agreed to stop charging fees after a resident dies, following action from the Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA has welcomed Maria Mallaband Care Group’s decision to stop using a contract term requiring the payment of one month’s fees following the death of a resident who paid for their own care. The move comes as part of an ongoing consumer law investigation by the CMA into fees charged by a number of care home providers, and its year-long study of the residential care home market where the CMA made clear its concerns that it is unfair to continue to charge fees for an extended period after a resident has died. In response to intervention by the CMA, Maria Mallaband, together with its sister company, Countrywide Care Homes, has agreed to amend its contract terms at these and any future care homes it operates so that fees will only be charged up to the date of death.
As part of its work, the CMA found that charging fees after death was widespread across the sector and that practices vary. In order to ensure that care homes take a consistent and lawful approach, the CMA will be publishing compliance advice for the sector as a whole. It has today launched a public consultation seeking views on its draft advice, so it can reach a final view on whether it’s fair to charge fees after death and, if so, for how long. Michael Grenfell, executive director for enforcement at the CMA, said: “It is important that care home residents, and their families can be confident they will be fairly treated, especially during the difficult period after a family member has died. “We are pleased that the Maria Mallaband Care Group has been responsive to our concerns about fees charged after death, and has taken clear and positive steps to make changes ahead of our public consultation on such fees. “We expect other care homes to make any necessary changes in line with our final views when published. “We now want to hear from families and care homes as part of our consultation.”
Claire Surr, Professor of Dementia Studies at Leeds Beckett University, (pictured above) is one of the speakers lined up for Caring UK’s ‘Exceeding the Boundaries of Care’ regional conferences that are taking pace at venues nationwide this year. Joining her at the events are Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green OBE, National Care Association chairman Nadra Ahmed OBE and Jane Murphy, Professor of Nutrition at Bournemouth University. Also confirmed are representatives from Skills for Care and Active Minds. Turn to pages 13 and 14 for details of this year’s events.
AWARD-winning care provider Hallmark Care Homes is joining forces with Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Care Workers Charity this year in an effort to defeat dementia and ensure no care worker will ever face financial hardship alone. Employees and residents from Hallmark’s 17 homes and Central Support Office are embarking on fundraising activities for the two causes, with the aim of raising £50,000 for each life-changing charity. The amount will help Alzheimer’s Research UK to fuel dementia research, while The Care Workers Charity will use the money to provide financial support to current, former and retired care workers who have fallen on hard times. Fundraising activities include sporting events, raffles, bake sales, non-uniform days and a luxury, live auction event. Managing director Avnish Goyal said: “We are absolutely delighted to be fundraising for these two important charities and to be Alzheimer’s Research UK’s first national care fundraising partner. “As we care for residents living with dementia, we have seen first-hand the devastating effects it can have on an individual and their loved ones, which is why we wholly support Alzheimer’s Research UK’s mission to bring about the first life-changing dementia treatment by 2025.”