NOTTINGHAM, England, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A consumer group says it has found huge discrepancies in the availability and cost of home healthcare in the United Kingdom based on where people live.
Describing it as a "postcode lottery," the group Which? found elderly people living just a few miles apart can pay widely differing amounts for home care, which includes help with dressing, washing and bathing, with some couples paying more than $1,400 a month, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
Some local authorities and councils are charging more than $30 an hour for home care while others provide it for free, Which? said.
The group also found only a handful of councils are making care available for all who need it, with 70 percent of authorities only providing for those with substantial or critical needs.
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One Nottingham couple, John Onyett, 74, and his wife Maggie, 76, said their monthly bill will jump from $518 to $1,471.
"All we have is our savings and we will have to use that," said John Onyett, who cares for his wife who suffered a stroke. "But those are not going to last very long and I don't know what happens when they run out."
Stephen Barker, a spokesman for the Nottingham City Council, said, "The only reason we are having to make changes is that the government has made such savage cuts."
More vulnerable older people will suffer if more councils seek savings by cutting services, critics say.
"It's ludicrous that people living just a few miles apart can pay such wildly different amounts for the same services," said Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive.
"Everyone should have comparable access to the care and support they need to remain independent and in their own home, regardless of where they live."
