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(From Western Daily Press)
Top-rated care homes in Somerset will be handed a cash bonus while below-par homes will not receive a penny as the county becomes the first in the country to use financial incentives to drive up falling standards.
The Western Daily Press revealed last month that 12 per cent of West care homes for the elderly were deemed to be "poor" by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
But today, Somerset County Council announced a new "Quality Premium Payment" scheme in which care homes performing well receive GBP22 per resident per week, while nursing homes will be given GBP23 per resident per week.
The homes are scored using a three-star system whereby no stars is a poor rating and three stars an excellent one.
Care homes falling into the bottom category will not benefit from any extra cash. Instead, Somerset County Council says it will offer support services such as such as management and staff training.
The head of the council's adult social care department, Clare Steel, said: "We want to ensure that Somerset's residents can have good-quality social care.