Health chief: keep vulnerable folk in care homes

VULNERABLE people should be kept in care homes – not hotels – because the former are regulated, the head of Care England has suggested.

Hotels are being used to free up space and prevent a backlog of bed blocking as the omicron variant increases pressures on the NHS. Patients discharged from hospital are being looked after by live-in carers in three hotels in southern England.

However, Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, raised concerns about the lack of regulation in hotels because they are outside the Care Quality Commission (CQC) remit.

Asked what he thought of the measure, he said: “Where there is capacity in care homes they should be used as they have the skill set and are regulated.

“Not only are care homes well equipped to help rehabilitation, but are also good value for money.”

Professor Green’s comments come as the Future Inn hotel, Plymouth, is one of three hotels in the South of England acting as a temporary care facility.

Workers have been flown in from Spain and Greece to support around 30 hospital patients who have been discharged. It has been reported that a number of other health authorities are considering similar measures.

The cost of care for a one-night stay in the hotel is around £300 – less than half of an NHS bed – but the quality of care is being questioned with hotel rooms lacking the right equipment.

Nadra Ahmed, executive chairman of the National Care Association, said she was shocked by the arrangement which was “fraught with challenge”.

However, the hotel facilities are being welcomed by patients, according to Anne-Marie Perry, of Abicare, which is contracted to set up the service.

She told ITV News: “Generally the reaction is so positive.”