'Disappointment' at care offer

Care homes say they need more money per patient

Private care home bosses have said they are "disappointed" with an offer from Scotland's councils in a dispute over fees for elderly people.

Scottish Care - which represents the majority of private care homes - said an offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) of £346 per patient fell well short of the sum required.

The organisation has said its members will refuse to accept any further referrals from next week if councils fail to meet their demands.

The offer comes ahead of a meeting between Cosla, Scottish Care and the Scottish Executive on Thursday to discuss the dispute.

We are looking for an extra £50 a week but as a conciliatory gesture we said we would take £25 a week and work towards getting the rest through the meetings

Joe Campbell of Scottish Care

Cosla is offering a weekly baseline rate of £346 per patient.

The offer also commits Scottish Care to take part in a detailed review of how nursing home rates are set from 2002 onwards.

Cosla social work spokeswoman Rita Miller said: "Councils across Scotland are concerned to provide the best possible care for our elderly people.

"This undignified wrangle over money has achieved nothing towards improving the service we, and our partner organisations, seek to provide.

"I believe that the offer we have made today goes some way down the road towards securing high quality nursing services for our elderly over the next several years - and should prevent a recurrence of the current situation."

Cosla president Norman Murray said: "Councils have no more room for manoeuvre. The consequences of Scottish Care refusing this offer and continuing their current course of action are therefore far reaching and detrimental to our elderly."

The move follows intervention from the Scottish Executive which last week stepped in to try to end the dispute by offering councils an extra £17.5m.

Care homes say they will not accept any more referrals

Joe Campbell, chairman of Scottish Care, said the new offer equates to about an extra £10 per patient per week - less than the £50 Scottish Care is looking for.

He said councils currently pay an average of about £336 per patient per week.

Mr Campbell said: "This is very disappointing and it does not auger well for the meeting on Thursday.

"All they are doing is regurgitating the £17.5m which they were given by the Scottish Executive and not offering anything else.

"The local authorities have not seen fit to find any money from their own resources to add to that money.

"We are looking for an extra £50 a week but as a conciliatory gesture we said we would take £25 a week and work towards getting the rest through the meetings."

New residents refused

He said a deadline of 30 July - when Scottish Care will refuse referrals to all its care homes unless councils pay the new increased rates - still stands.

Private care homes are already refusing to accept referrals by Aberdeen City Council unless the authority pays the new rates which council bosses claim they cannot afford to do.

Meanwhile, Scottish Care members in the North and South Lanarkshire areas have given their respective councils the required six months' notice before imposing the same restrictions.