Fund will help pay care costs

6, Aug, 2009

PSP Healthcare, operators of Angela Court Nursing Home in Sidmouth, have launched a £1m fund to assist with the increasing cost of providing nursing care for the elderly.

Wayne Shermon, operations director, said: “PSP is a family-run organisation which specialises in the long-term care of the elderly. Our founders recognise that the costs of nursing care can be very high and often cause additional stress for families and supporters. They have, therefore, set up a special fund which can be used to subsidise the cost of providing nursing care.”

The fund is open to those requiring dementia nursing care at a PSP care centre. Applications for the subsidies are completed by the nurse manager and entail a clinical and financial assessment. Decisions on the subsidies are made by a funding committee and usually available within three working days of an application.

Mr Shermon said: “The cost of caring for those with dementia has increased significantly over the past few years, but Government funding has not caught up with this. We have been working closely with the PCT and Devon County Council to ensure that those requiring our specialist services are able to do so by taking advantage of our subsidy fund.”

Over 700,000 people are estimated to be suffering from dementia in the UK and this figure is estimated to triple in the next 10 years.