A new draft consumer law advice for the UK care home industry is being considered, with a particular focus on curbing charges after a resident’s death.
The care home industry has been under close scrutiny in recent years from the UK’s competition watchdog – The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – over families bearing the costs of fees after a resident has passed away. The CMA has been looking at the industry as a whole to ensure there is fair competition to keep fees down in an era where elderly care is both costly and straining under a continually ageing population.
The recent developments with the CMA’s market investigations has been focused on drafting consumer law advice for care home providers to ensure they comply with their consumer law responsibilities. The CMA has invited interested parties to respond to questions, and we are expecting an update anytime soon.
The importance of good competition in the care home industry
Competition in any industry related to healthcare is so important. We’re talking about the care for vulnerable people here.
There should be heathy competition to ensure families and prospective residents have a range of services to choose from to fit their budgets and requirements. A stale care home industry market could easily lead to higher prices which could be inflated, in part, by the strain on the industry as a whole due to the UK’s ageing population.
We need to ensure there are plenty of local services to choose from and ensure that services provided are both fairly-priced and of high quality. We hear all the time about care home horror stories, and it’s not a nice thought to think that a loved-one may end up suffering at the hands of people who are supposed to be supporting them.
We will continue to keep a close eye on the care home industry and also the CMA’s involvement in ensuring the marketplace is well looked after and is healthy.