Third of care homes ‘poor’

Kent is one of the worst performing areas in the UK for care home quality.

In total, 35.2% of facilities here are poor — meaning the CQC has given them ratings of requiring improvement or inadequate at their latest inspections.

But in Medway just 20.8% of homes are in the same category. The South East as a whole is one of the worst regions, with a score of 28.2%.

That compares to neighbouring London’s 20.3%, while the north west is the worst performing region with 33.6%. The findings, published by charity Independent Age, reveal a stark variation in the quality of care across the country.

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 charity believes factors such as low local authority funding, low pay and difficulty recruiting staff, and the lack of a good support mechanism for improving care homes are to blame for the results.

The care home market is now valued at nearly £16 billion but social care is facing a £2.6 billion funding gap by 2019/20.