Imbalance in Care Home provision hits the north and Greater London

Published: 16/06/2015

Data collected from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed that there are more care home beds being created in the south than the north creating a’ north / south divide’. It is thought that the driving force behind this is that operators are looking to benefit from the more affluent self-funding market in the south of the country compared to the higher proportion of local authority funded places in the north.

In addition to the north the other area which is experiencing a drop in the number of Care Home beds is Greater London despite the fact that CQC analysis shows that the London region has the highest level of elderly population per registered Care Home bed. The South East has only the second highest proportionate Care Home bed provision for the elderly yet that’s the area where development is booming.

Lee Baker, Head of Care Home Fees comments:

‘It’s increasingly clear that with an ageing population we should be planning, as a nation, to provide more Care Home beds yet this analysis shows that any increase in provision is not spread proportionately across the country. It’s also clear that availability of money is determining where Care Home beds are provided.

“Whilst undoubtedly more Care Home beds are needed in the north and Greater London what’s also needed is far greater awareness of the criteria determining the availability of Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG funding). So many people are unaware that anyone who requires residential care due to a primary health need should have their care funded by the CCG. I’d urge anyone who feels they have paid for nursing care that should have been funded to contact us so we can investigate.”

Content correct at time of publication