The £360 Day.
Day Surgery is Covered. Dementia Care isn’t.
Theme: The Burnout & The Broken
Quick Take:
Routine surgery. Extraordinary bill.
Savings disappear quietly - one invoice at a time.
Respite shouldn’t feel like a luxury.
The Cost of One Single Day
Day Surgery. NHS: Free.
Dementia Care: £360.
I’m having routine day surgery. The operation is covered by the NHS. The problem? I need my husband with me which means around 12 hours of dementia care for Milly.
At £25 - £35 an hour, that’s around £360.
For one day. Just so I can have surgery.
Thank heavens I don’t need this regularly. Though I do need respite sometimes.
But at these prices? I won’t get much.
The Numbers We Don’t Notice - Until We Do
Care homes charge weekly. It’s bundled - room, food, care, supervision. In England, The Care Home Guide reports that it’s roughly £1,000 - £1,800 a week and it’s always a higher rate for dementia.
Home care sounds flexible - but it’s charged hourly at £20 - £35 an hour and, once again, more for specialist dementia care.
And when you need a proper block of time? Not just an hour here or there. You need shift cover with maybe two carers and possibly night care which is when a day or more turns into a four-figure shock.
I planned on a 36 hour get-away to stay with a friend and then I got the quote - £648!!! I didn’t go.
The Uncomfortable Bit
If you’ve saved all your life, that’s what pays. The house. The careful planning. The “we’ll leave something for the children.”
It drains away quietly into invoices.
Meanwhile, governments keep postponing real reform. Caps on lifetime costs? Kicked down the road. Again.
And yes - councils help some people. But eligibility is tight. Budgets are stretched and your choices are limited.
It’s All a Bit Mad
Living with dementia is disorientating enough.
Funding it? That’s another level entirely.
Anyway - I’m off for surgery.
£360’s worth.
See you next week!