Families angry over £7k a year cross-border care funding gap
Relatives spoke out after learning Denbighshire County Council pays £7,000 a year less per person towards providing care in a care home than their counterparts a short hop across the water in Conwy.
One elderly couple caught up in the postcode lottery of funding are Leslie and Megan Smallwood.
Leslie, 90, a retired quantity surveyor, and Megan, 86, a former maths teacher, live at The Old Deanery Care Home in St Asaph.
They moved there in February last year from their family home at Caerwys in Flintshire, with that property now up for sale.
Their daughter Yvonne Harding, a community nurse who lives in Heswall on the Wirral, said: 'Having this difference in fees from one council to another is fundamentally unfair.
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'It seems to me Conwy are valuing the care sector, and I applaud that.
'We can't fault the home in its care, but it's about meeting the true cost of that care.'
Rosemary Holland's brother Andrew Truelove, 61, is a resident at St David's Residential Home in Rhyl.
Her father John Truelove had been a resident at the home until his death in September last year.
Rosemary, who lives in Conwy, used to work in the care sector and said she has huge concerns about the financial challenges the industry was facing.
She urged Denbighshire County Council to at least match the fees paid by Conwy County Borough Council.
She said that would ensure all care home residents received an equal level of care – and would stop staff leaving homes in Denbighshire for better pay at care homes across the river in Conwy.
Rosemary said: 'I just feel that Denbighshire needs to sort themselves out and pay the extra.
'They need to, because what Denbighshire is doing is affecting the residents.
'I have real concerns about the way social services in Denbighshire is working with residents, because it feels like they are not working for the residents, they are working to try to keep costs down.'
The span of the Grade II listed Foryd Bridge can mean a huge difference in funding for care homes on opposite banks of the mouth of the River Clwyd.
Care Forum Wales also hit out describing the funding gap as a 'shameful disparity is grossly unjust because it discriminates against older vulnerable people.'
Thea Brain, North Wales Policy Advisor for CFW, said: 'This is about the entitlement of the individual. Why is someone who lives in Conwy worth more than someone who lives in Denbighshire?
'When you press this issue with the people at Denbighshire County Council they give very vague answers pointing to the differences in settlement for each local authority but that doesn't account for these huge differences in the figures.
'When you look into this you are left with the unacceptable conclusion that this is just a matter of political priority.'
CFW Chair Mario Kreft said: 'It's astonishing that a Labour-controlled council like Denbighshire is ignoring Welsh Labour Government advice and is promoting such inequality in Wales.
'Those making these decisions should consider positions.'
Denbighshire County Council funds about 382 placements across 85 care homes.
The total projected cost for older people's residential and nursing care during 2025/26 is £15.2 million.
A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: "In setting its 2025/2026 care fees, Denbighshire County Council consulted with care providers across the county and took into consideration the main concerns raised, which were the increase in Real Living Wage and the impact of the changes to National Insurance. Each Local Authority has a different funding settlement and therefore has to strike a very delicate balance of navigating challenging financial constraints and ensuring that we are maintaining a sustainable future for the care sector in Denbighshire.
"Denbighshire currently funds approximately 382 placements across 85 care homes. The total projected cost for older people's residential and nursing care during 2025/26 is £15.2 million.
"With social care making up nearly a third of the average Council Tax bill in Denbighshire, it is vital that we take a fair and sustainable approach to funding care within Denbighshire."
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