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The viability of care homes
Overview
In its most recent report, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) described enduring issues within the health and care system that had been reported upon within previous issues.
Significant challenges remain within areas such as:
- Access to care
Getting access to services remains a fundamental problem, with record numbers of people are waiting for planned care and treatment - Quality of care
Increasing demand and pressures on staff are taking a toll on their mental health and wellbeing. Without the appropriate support, this is affecting the quality of care they deliver. - Inequalities
Midwives from ethnic minority groups say that care for people using maternity services is affected by racial stereotypes and a lack of cultural awareness among staff. They also describe a ‘normalised’ culture where staff tolerate discrimination from colleagues. - Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Ongoing problems with the current system have left many people who are in vulnerable circumstances without legal protection for extended periods. - The health and care workforce
Staff regularly report of being overworked, exhausted and stressed, sometimes to the point of becoming ill, injured or leaving their job altogether. - Systems
Local systems must implement plans to address unwarranted variations in population health and disparities in people’s access, outcomes, and experience of health and social care.
Concerns about the health and care workforce were previously identified within a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee Report (2022) which suggested that “the National Health Service and the social care sector are facing the greatest workforce crisis in their history.”
Funding is also a significant issue. A report published by national learning disability charity Hft and Care England focused upon the finances and workforce in the adult social care sector in 2023.
They highlighted that the majority (71%) of care providers surveyed for the report were in deficit or experienced a decrease in their surplus in 2023. Factors reported to contribute included:
- The most significant cost pressure for providers continues to be the workforce, highlighted by 81% or respondents
- Annual increases in the National Living Wage are the most significant workforce-related cost, with 79% of providers reporting that local authority fee increases did not cover the impact of this in 2023
- For the 3rd year running, utility bills were a demanding cost pressure for adult social care providers
The wider issue of a lack of care provision was laid bare in a news article that highlighted that some vulnerable children were being placed in care homes a significant distance, sometimes 300 miles, from the areas in which they grew up.
Please download to read the full response.
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