UK care home boss warns Wirral Council its 'extraordinarily low fees' are putting vulnerable at risk

THE chief executive of the largest representative body for independent providers of adult social care has publicly voiced concerns about the viability of many care homes throughout Wirral.

Professor Martin Green, boss of Care England, said looking after elderly and vulnerable people cannot be done on a shoestring and urged the local authority to increase fees paid to providers.

However the town hall's social services chief told the Globe an additional £3m has been allocated in the budget.

Professor Green said: "In order to guarantee care for people living in care homes now and those who will need them in the future, it is important that the extraordinarily low fees paid by Wirral Council for those unable to fund themselves are increased.

"Clearly the council is under huge pressure - and I accept that there are competing priorities - but a measure of a good society is how we care and support those in need.

"Good quality care cannot be delivered on a shoestring.

"Some providers are being paid only £2.46 per hour to deliver the high quality care that we need and want, this is not sustainable.”

Councillor Chris Jones, cabinet member for adult social services, said: "We understand and share many of the concerns raised by Care England.

"In setting the level of our fees for the current financial year, we recognised that our older and most vulnerable residents deserve high-quality, sustainable and safe care.

"As a result - even during a time of national austerity and financial difficulties for this council - we committed to investing an additional £3m to safeguard and help improve the quality of care available in Wirral.

"This investment, coupled with our ongoing work to better join-up our services with the NHS, means we can drive forward our work towards making sure that older people live well, and people with disabilities can live independently, both of which are key pledges within our Wirral Plan."

Professor Green said Wirral and other areas will need to prepare themselves for a detrimental impact on families, local economies and the NHS.

"Social care provides a significant amount of employment in Wirral and is crucial for those in receipt of its care and of course those in its employment," he said.

The number of beds in residential homes in England fell from 255,289 in 2010 to 235,799 in 2016 though the supply of nursing home beds rose from 205,375 to 224,843 over the same period, the Care Quality Commission revealed in its annual report.

SOURCE: Wirral Globe