Charity finds 'stark variation' in quality of care homes in England

Older people are victims of a postcode lottery when it comes to the quality of their care homes, with the North West being the worst performing region and London being the best performing, according to a new report.

The analysis, based on CQC inspections of care homes, by Independent Age, the older people’s charity, revealed that the North West contains seven of the eight worst performing English local authorities on care home quality, with one in three care homes across the region performing poorly.
In the North West, 33.6 per cent of care homes perform poorly, in Yorkshire and The Humber, it is 32.2 per cent and in the South East, it is 28.2 per cent.
The best performing regions are London with 20.3 per cent of care homes being rated highly by the CQC, the East of England with 20.8 per cent and the South West with 21.1 per cent.
Simon Bottery, director of policy at Independent Age, said: “No one should be forced to live in an unsatisfactory care home but our analysis shows this is the grim reality in some parts of the country.

“The market is simply not providing a decent choice for older people and their families but there is little indication that local authorities or the Government are giving the problem the attention it deserves.”
He believes the reasons for the poor quality homes are a lack of funding as well as low pay and difficulty in recruiting staff and the lack of a good support mechanism for improving care homes that are struggling.
“The Government has an opportunity to address this in its upcoming Green Paper on social care but, in the meantime, councils must demonstrate that they understand the reasons for care home failures and are working to resolve them,” he added.
The difference between various regions can be huge
Stockport, Salford, Tameside, Manchester and Kensington and Chelsea have over more than half of their care homes rated as Inadequate or Requires Improvement.
While in the Isles of Scilly, Islington, Rutland, Richmond upon Thames and Thurrock, less than five per cent of their homes are rated Inadequate or Requires Improvement.
In response to the report, Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said it "clearly shows that in areas dominated by local authority funded care, the level of funding is having a significant impact on quality".

However, Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said that lack of funding cannot be used to excuse poor quality care and added: “It is horrible to think that in some areas the choices are so limited.
“This is a frightening situation for older people and their families who above all want their loved one to be somewhere caring and safe – and this really shouldn’t be too much to ask in an advanced economy in the twenty first century.
“In the worst affected areas the social care infrastructure is now so threadbare that there's a real risk of vulnerable older people and their desperate relatives waiting endlessly for a good and affordable local care home place that no longer exists.”
Independent Age wants the Government to tackle variation in care home quality in its forthcoming Green Paper on social care.

In addition, it wants local authorities to look at the drivers for variation in the different areas.
Independent Age offers a free advice guide, ‘How to find the right care home’. The guide looks at what to consider and essential questions like location and cost, what you want from a home and whether a care home is actually the best option.

SOURCE: carehome.co.uk, Sue Learner