Care home places to fall thousands short

 Care homes will have half the number of places required within a decade because workers are paid less than checkout staff, Age UK has said. A study produced by BBC Radio’s 4

You and Yours and property consultants JLL predicted that the shortage would increase to 70,000 beds in nine years.

The figures are based on analysis which suggests that while 7,000 new care home places have been provided each year since 2002, the number required per year will reach 14,000 by 2026.

Caroline Abrahams, director of Age UK, said the crisis was partly down to a lack of quality staff. She told Today: “A problem for care home operators … is getting enough people who want to do the job on the front line.”