New concerns have been raised about affordability of care homes in Scotland as the price gap between the cheapest and most expensive has more than doubled in a decade.

The average price of a Scots care home place for self funding residents in Scotland has soared by 64% in a decade to reach £1000 a week.

New data has revealed that the cost of fully or mainly self-funded long stay in care homes without nursing care has shot up from £606 per week to £995.

The cost with nursing care has shot up at a similar rate from £684 a week to £1111.

The figure does not include the cost of care which councils contribute towards.

Data seen by the Herald reveals the extent of the postcode lottery in public costs for home places with nursing care since 2011 has soared, with the price gap between the cheapest local authority area and the most expensive more than doubling from £248 ten years ago to £592 now, or £30,784 a year.

The Scottish Borders has seen home charges with nursing care soar by nearly double from £637 a week to £1232 to become the fourth most expensive of the 32 Scottish local authorities.

Falkirk has seen an increase of 79% with charges at £1136 while there has been a 75% in Aberdeen and 74% in Edinburgh and Stirling.

The Na h-Eileanan Siar council area which has some of the most affordable charges in Scotland saw just a 39% increase over the decade, while West Lothian and North Ayrshire had a 41% rise and West Dunbartonshire saw a 43% leap.

The highest prices for home placements with nursing care varies are in Aberdeen where is is £1470 a week, Shetland (1388), Edinburgh (£1385), Midlothian (1285) and Aberdeenshire (1264). The cheapest are in Dumfries and Galloway (£878), Na h-Eileanan Siar (890), North Ayrshire (902), North Lanarkshire (£935) and West Lothian (947).

Age Scotland said it was crucial that anyone with concerns about paying for care home costs should seek help.

The Herald:

Brian Sloan, the charity's chief executive said: “It’s remarkable that the cost of residential care has risen to these levels, and many will feel that upwards of £1000 a week is astronomical.

"There is no doubt that the cost of delivering quality care is extremely expensive but for many people the self-funding rates are beyond their means.

"We know from calls to our helpline that homes may also require a resident to have up to three years’ worth of self-funding rate fees available in cash before they are offered a place which could mean that they aren’t able to live where they want. And in large parts of the country there just isn’t enough choice of home so people may have to move considerable distances from their community and social networks.

“It is not entirely surprising that there are such variations in the average cost of care across the country as property prices, employment costs and regional economic differences will all play a part in determining what care homes charge. Care home providers will have high overheads, and it is vital that they recruit and retain qualified staff to provide the best possible care for their older residents. To do that they need to pay their staff fairly, and well.

“The complex system and sources of private care home funding is something that many older people and their families find difficult to navigate. Our Helpline advisors receive calls on this subject every day and offer free advice to families, including a full benefits’ check to identify any financial support to which they may be entitled."

Michael Byrne from Ayrshire, whose 88-year-old mother suffers from dementia, said finding an affordable home had proven to be "a major headache".  He said: "The difference in costs highlighted here is just shocking, although I understand it may well be market forces I do wonder if there should be some kind of interevention."

Former deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Alex Rowley, MSP for Fife, who had been carrying out his own inquiries about the charges said: "We want a proper National Care Service that is run in the interest of people - not profit."

The Herald: Alex Rowley MSP.

Last week, the Scottish Government published the draft bill for the new National Care Service which it said would end the "postcode lottery" of care for frail elderly and disabled people.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said there would be a focus on home care with older people supported by loved ones in their own community "where possible".

There was some criticism that the bill does not include a cap on the amount people are expect to pay for personal care in care homes.

Responsibility for supporting the elderly and disabled would be taken away from councils and given to new care boards, which will be overseen by members of the Scottish cabinet.

 Alzheimer Scotland has repeatedly raised concerns that self-funders are subsidising local authority-funded residents.

The charity said personal care was not free in Scotland but “merely mitigates the care element of care home costs.” and said there was “no relation” between the level of payments and the actual cost.

Scottish Care, which represents the independent care sector, has said care homes were providing “complex care and support to people with advanced conditions for a third of the cost of a hospital”

It said care could range from “personalised decoration and activities all the way through to complex nursing care”..