Responding to the written Ministerial statement today outlining an increase in fees for care home inspections from next April, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Paul Burstow MP, said:
"This fee hike may be the final straw for some care home owners.
"Organisations providing care in peoples' own homes and in care homes are already struggling to make ends meet. They are squeezed between local authorities who refuse to pay increased fees and regulators policing standards. This pressure is driving more and more homes out of business so that elderly people are forced to move or are languishing in hospital waiting for a care bed.
"Ministers cannot ignore their responsibility to ensure that vulnerable people get the care and dignity that they deserve."
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