A DAUGHTER is facing having to move her elderly mother from her nursing home after her care fees more than doubled to nearly £10,000 a month.
Pamela Watts, 76, moved into Sherwood Lodge Nursing Home in Sandford, which is run by the St Monica Trust, in December.
Mrs Watts, who suffers with lymphoedema and cannot walk, was paying £3,543 a month for her care plus her a weekly £108 government funded nursing fee – the equivalent of £4,011 a month.
But now Mrs Watts, who funds her care herself, has been told her fees are to rocket from June 1 to £2,290 a week – £119,080 a year or £9,923 a month.
The additional £108 government funding will also continue to be paid – taking the overall cost to £124,696 a year.
Bosses at the trust said the care fees have increased because Mrs Watts' needs have changed.
Mrs Watts is currently paying her care fees out of her savings but now faces selling her home in Bristol to fund her ongoing care.
Trust bosses have now given Mrs Watts and her daughter Jacquie Heal until May 25 to decide whether to pay the increased fees or find her alternative care within 28 days.
Housewife Mrs Heal, 44, said: "Mum moved to Sherwood Lodge in December as it had a track hoist in the room which was needed to help mum get around.
"When she went into the home she had lymphoedema and the care staff assured me and her they could meet her needs.
"Mum's only problem is with her lymphoedema which causes swollen legs and makes it impossible for her to walk.
"She is articulate and can feed herself, brush her hair and give herself a drink.
"I think it is outrageous that the fees have risen so much as mum's needs have not changed."
Mrs Heal, who lives in Cleeve, applied to the government for Continuing Healthcare Funding for help in paying the fees.
But the application was turned down after Mrs Watts' needs were deemed not complex enough.
Mrs Heal has now written to North Somerset MP Dr Liam Fox and health secretary Andrew Lansley asking them to intervene.
She has also raised her concerns about the level of fees charged by the home with St Monica's Trust trustees David Wills and Trevor Smallwood.
She added: "It seems as when you are a privately funded patient, care homes can charge what they like.
"There seems to be no regulatory body controlling the fees or putting a cap on them.
"These fees are extortionate – you could enjoy an all-year-round luxury cruise or pay three live-in carers a week for the same money.
"Social services told me that when mum's money runs out they will only pay £500 a week towards her care.
"This means the family would have to pick up the remainder which is £1,700 a week, which is just not viable.
"I now have no alternative but to look at alternative accommodation for mum which is a great shame as she is happy at Sherwood Lodge."
A spokesman for St Monica's Trust said Mrs Watts received a higher level of care than other patients.
The spokesman said: "The trust has been very concerned to provide a long-term care solution for Mrs Watts, despite her extremely complex care needs which have arisen as a consequence of various health conditions, weight and lack of mobility.
"The care requirements for Mrs Watts are considerably greater than for all other residents.
"She currently receives an additional thirteen hours of dedicated care every day.
"The trust has been providing this additional care, without question, and at its own cost since early December, but we hope people will understand that, as a not-for-profit organisation, we cannot continue to do this on an indefinite basis.
"We have advised Mrs Watts' family on several occasions previously that this situation would need to change.
"The increase proposed to Mrs Watts' fees is purely to cover the actual cost of this care, and only the cost.
"It is 91 additional staff hours every week which costs the trust £1,365, every week.
"Despite Mrs Watts being in a position to self-fund, the trust has nevertheless been working with the PCT and local authority to encourage them to recognise the complexity of her care needs."
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