Coronavirus ‘will force 1,200 care homes to go bust’
ONE in ten care homes could go bust under the pressures of coronavirus – forcing thousands of older people to move, experts warned last night.
Hundreds of care homes are facing a collapse in income as well as soaring costs for PPE and agency staff.
Now experts fear more than a thousand homes could shut, with residents moved miles away from their loved ones if no closer places can be found.
Nick Hood, senior adviser at Opus Business services, told the Mail that 1,200 care homes could collapse due to the impact of Covid-19 – a tenth of the UK’s 11,293 homes for older people.
‘My guess is it’s more likely to be double or triple that,’ he added. ‘I don’t think they’ll ever open their doors again.’
Mr Hood, who specialises in restructuring debt for care homes, said: ‘the vast majority of homes don’t make money at the best of times.
‘Nobody has been through a situation like this where an entire business model collapses. Nobody knows how much further the Covid-19 deaths will go in care homes and how long it will be before people feel confident putting their elderly relatives into care homes.’
a Care and Quality Commission report warned providers could go out of business because of a shortfall of income due to resident deaths and increased costs. Empty beds across the sector have left a huge hole in income for providers, with many too scared to take in new residents for fear of another outbreak.
Families are also reluctant to put their loved ones into care homes over concerns they are ‘ticking timebombs’.
Friary Lodge in north London was forced to close its doors this month because of ‘ongoing staffing issues and operational difficulties due to Covid-19’ – and asked 14 residents to move while it temporarily shut down.
MPs and charities last night warned that the ‘national disaster’ of care home closures would see older people ‘decanted’ between facilities.
Caroline abrahams, charity director at age UK, warned: ‘I can’t imagine how distressing it would be for any older person who suddenly found the place they call home is folding, and for families forced to scrabble around to fix other arrangements in a huge rush.
‘It’s also obvious that if lots of care homes collapse at once it would be impossible to find enough other places for older people to go.’
Mr Hood added: ‘ you can’t just put them into a flat in the East End of London or the nearest Premier Inn.
‘they could be put in care homes 90 to 100 miles away from where their families are – they’ve got to go somewhere.’
William Laing, founder of healthcare analyst LaingBuisson, said the sector was facing its biggestever challenge, adding: ‘there’s never been such a big hit to occupancy. Never ever.’
the Government has given £3.2 billion to local authorities to deal with the cost of coronavirus – with an extra £600million earmarked specifically for infection control in care homes – but some providers claim they have struggled to access it.
Councils have been accused of sitting on the cash instead of passing it on.
a Department of Health and social Care spokesman said the Government was ‘doing everything we can to ensure the adult social care sector in England is getting the support they need to tackle the unprecedented pandemic on the frontline and continue to deliver quality care to our most vulnerable.’
thirty residents have died of coronavirus at a single care home, in one of the worst outbreaks of the infection in Britain. the grim death toll at Chadderton total Care Unit in Oldham was revealed by health bosses in the area.
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‘You can’t just put them in a Premier Inn’