«Breaking News» Care home crisis as 8,000 beds for vulnerable pensioners disappear in just three years

The number of care home beds available for vulnerable pensioners has plunged by 8,000 in just three years, figures reveal.

This represents a fall of 2 per cent in the total number of beds – despite rapidly increasing demand for support as the population ages.

In another alarming sign of England’s deepening social care crisis, there has also been a 6 per cent decline in the number of residential and nursing homes operating in England since 2014. It means there are nearly 1,500 fewer operators to choose from.

The shortage of places is exacerbating the problem of hospital bed blocking because the NHS is often unable to discharge people to a place in a care home. This means thousands of elderly people are left stuck in hospital unnecessarily.

The number of care home beds available for vulnerable pensioners has plunged by 8,000 in just three years, figures reveal (stock image)

Others are left in their own houses with insufficient home help cover when they would benefit from a place in a care home. The net number of care home beds registered with the Care Quality Commission has fallen by 8,636 in three years, figures uncovered by Labour show.

At the end of 2014 there were more than 468,000 places, but by the end of last year there were fewer than 460,000. The net number of care home locations registered with the Care Quality Commission fell by 1,430 over the same period to just over 16,100.

Care homes are being forced to close in part because councils cannot afford to place people in them.

Labour social care spokesman Barbara Keeley said: ‘Short-sighted cuts by the Conservative Government have dangerously destabilised our residential care home sector at a time when it has never been needed more. Tory cuts to local government budgets of 40 per cent mean councils are able to offer less and less to care homes to provide care – and that’s seen over one thousands homes leave the sector.

‘Surging demand for social care from our growing ageing population, many with dementia, means we need more care not less but the Tories continue to kick the vital issue of social care funding into the long grass by continuing to delay publication of their unnecessary green paper.

‘At the last election Labour pledged an additional £8billion to ease the pressure facing the residential care home sector and to lift access to care for all vulnerable older adults and young disabled adults who need it.’ The falling number of care home places comes despite the fact that demand for care is rising.

The shortage of places is exacerbating the problem of hospital bed blocking because the NHS is often unable to discharge people to a place in a care home

A total of 1,843,920 requests for support were received from new clients by local authorities in 2017/18, up from 1,824,415 in 2016/17. It equates to an average of 5,052 requests received each day, up from 4,998 the year before.

The average cost for a care home resident paying for themselves in 2016 was £846 a week – nearly £44,000 a year. By contrast, local authorities pay far less, around £621 a week. The Competition and Markets Authority believes that parts of the care home industry are unlikely to be sustainable in the long term because of the low rates that local authorities pay.

Last week the Daily Mail revealed that thousands of elderly people could be left on their own in hospital over the festive period.

An analysis by Labour found that more than 4,600 beds in hospitals will be occupied unnecessarily this December.

This is because cuts to council budgets have forced many town halls to slash the social care services, such as home helps, that they provide.

Despite the problems, the Government’s long-awaited social care green paper has been repeatedly delayed.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/29/care-home-crisis-as-8000-beds-for-vulnerable-pensioners-disappear-in-just-three-years/
Main photo article The number of care home beds available for vulnerable pensioners has plunged by 8,000 in just three years, figures reveal.
This represents a fall of 2 per cent in the total number of beds – despite rapidly increasing demand for support as the population ages.
In another alarming sign of E...

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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





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