The Costs of Community Residential Facilities for Adults With a Mental Handicap in England

Estimates of the economic costs of a random sample of 123 community residential facilities for people with a mental handicap in England are presented. Total resource costs, including capital, average £38 per resident day and range from £16 per day to over £90 per day. Costs vary across the four types of provider. Voluntary and private sector facilities are the least expensive, health authority facilities are the most expensive and local authority facilities lie somewhere in between. A more systematic evaluation of the reasons why costs vary in this manner is being carried out but preliminary analysis presented here suggests high costs are associated with higher dependency of residents particularly those accommodated in small domestic scale accommodation.