How much does home care cost with Penna and why?
At Penna we believe that every client has a right to expect a full explanation of why we charge the fees we do and how we arrive at our charge rates. Too often we hear stories about companies being vague about costs for care – we are determined that will not be Penna!
The cost of care is expensive – why is that? There are two main economic pressures upon us at the moment. Firstly, there is the inflationary pressures within the economy – as a business we are subject to the same rising prices that private households are, as well as other items we purchase as a business. Our basic personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons etc are at an all-time high cost. As well as our utility, insurance and all the other expenses we incur in the business. As a small provider we do not have the luxury of bulk buying in supplies like the big franchise companies so unfortunately, we must absorb these increases within the care costs.
Secondly, you will have heard about the acute shortage of high-quality care staff in the UK. That means that there are a lot of care companies competing for a small pool of staff. Some companies use a lot of agency staff (brought into the company on a temporary basis) to cover clients’ care needs. We do not do that. Penna Homecare Limited is a private care provider, and not a care agency. This means that we directly employ all our carers.
We are fully regulated and put a huge amount of effort and expertise into training our carers, to ensure we provide a high-quality service that is delivered by competent and professional staff. We want to provide a home care service you can rely on.
For all the care we provide we must cover the cost of the carer’s wages, holiday pay, training costs, national insurance, pension and employer tax. Also, the office staff, office and the software needed to provide care, alongside all the costs incurred for regulatory registration and compliance. It is not about making huge profits for us, it is about providing a good service and maintaining a financially stable business.
Understanding fees at the Commencement of Care
When taking on a new care client and agreeing a care package, we are completely up-front about how much that package with Penna will cost, with no hidden costs or unexpected fees.
This will all be outlined in the care agreement and personal circumstance sheet prior to commencement of care. (If urgent care put in place this may be the next working day)
Your quote for visiting care will be confirmed once our management team have been to visit you at home to finalise your care package and support needs to ensure your care is personalised to you.
We provide visits from as little as 1 hour per week up to several calls a day, as well as the option of overnight support, as we have the experience and flexibility to meet your care needs. We are happy to increase or decrease care as and when needed as care needs can be ever changing. For example, if you need extra support to get over an illness or the care package is commenced following an illness or injury, we can reduce this as you improve.
No two clients’ needs are the same and therefore the cost of care packages always varies from client to client.
Social care funding accepted
If you are receiving social care funding through the local authority for care and have a personal budget or have chosen direct payments, we are able to accept top-ups to these payments. What does this mean? It means that we will ask you to pay the difference between what the local authority will pay for your care and our advertised rates. If we were to simply accept the local authority rate as our charge to you, then this would mean having to accept a x% drop in our income – which would mean we couldn’t continue in business.
By choosing this option, you have the flexibility to choose your care provider rather than this being arranged for you by your local authority. You can organise this care yourself and pay for it directly, topping up the payments if needed.
Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss fee rates or top ups -if you have a personal budget from the local authority. We are here to help in any way we can and we want everyone who deals with us to fully understand the nature and level of our charges.
