SWANSEA Council is working hard to help private care homes out of a crisis which has already forced several to close, councillors have been told.

The issue was raised by the Liberal Democrat group at a full meeting of Swansea Council this week.

The party asked cabinet member for social services John Davies what steps the authority was taking to alleviate the pressure on care home managers.
Councillor Davies assured the council that everything was being done to find a way to help.

Several homes in the Swansea Valley and Neath have closed since January and more are facing the threat of going under. Managers have claimed homes are not paid a fair rate when a public sector patient is referred to them.

Council-owned homes get £381 a patient while private sector homes only receive £224. The sum is set by the Benefits Agency and councils across Wales operate within the framework. But care home owners said the fee does not cover extra costs created by the introduction of a national minimum wage and new care standards legislation.

Councillor Davies told the full council that the care home owners had "made a good case" and that the council was looking at all options.
"We have taken every positive approach to working with the independent sector," he said.
"We have established an independent sector forum which meets regularly.
"We are working towards a new contracting framework, to be implemented next year, which aims to provide a more predictable market for homes and support them more effectively in developing quality services.
"We have also commissioned a report by independent accountants to look at the costs of care in order to establish an objective basis for the payment of fees."

Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt announced two weeks ago that £5million extra would be made available for the care of the elderly in Wales.

Councillor Davies added that he was waiting for guidance on how much of that cash Swansea Council would get and how it can spend it.

He added: "These issues are ones of funding and national policy and are beyond the ability of any authority to resolve without the support of central government."