Half of care homes failing in parts of England

 Which? investigation of care home inspections data reveals postcode lottery of care home quality across England

 More than half of care home places in some parts of England are in facilities rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’, according to analysis carried out by Which? of data released by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In six local authority areas, good quality care home places are so limited that 50% or more of local beds are in homes rated by CQC inspectors as requiring improvement or inadequate, making it less likely that people looking to move into a care home will able to find a good place close to home. 

The lack of good quality care is particularly acute in the London borough of Westminster, where seven in ten (69%) beds were found in care homes rated poor or inadequate. In Manchester and Wakefield, three in five beds (58%) are in care homes rated as poor or inadequate, closely followed by Kirklees (57%), Portsmouth (56%) and Tameside (55%). With demand for beds set to rise, the time for action is now.

Poor quality care homes

In 45 local authority areas a third or more care places are in poor quality care homes. Nine of these councils are in the capital and include Westminster (69% of beds are in failing homes), Tower Hamlets (48%), Islington (47%), Kensington and Chelsea (46%), Newham (41%), Haringey (41%), Barnet (40%), Ealing (35%) and Harrow (33%). While the research, which compared the quality of local provision in 151 council areas that provide adult social care, provides some worrying figures, there are a small number of areas where at least nine in 10 care home beds are in homes rated as good or outstanding. 

These include the Isles of Scilly (100%), Richmond upon Thames (94%), Rutland (91%) and Blackburn with Darwen (90%). Overall, the analysis highlights the huge regional variation in the provision of quality local care across the country that exists in the current care market.

Care provision ‘could get worse’

Which? has already heard from hundreds of relatives of care home residents, who have highlighted existing problems in the current care system. Some have had to wait years to find a suitable care home or have had to place their relative far away, as there was no suitable place available locally. Which? is warning that this picture could get worse, as the demand for places starts to outstrip supply in an increasing number of local areas.

 

Previous Which? research shows that almost nine in 10 council areas across England could see a shortfall in care home places by 2022. The research also raises questions around whether some councils will be able to continue to meet their statutory duty to offer local authority-funded individuals at least one suitable care home place that will meet the prospective resident’s needs.

SOURCE: Which, Joanna Pearl