Areas where three quarters of care homes aren’t up to scratch

tHree quarters of nursing homes are failing in some parts of the country, watchdog figures reveal.

nearly one in three (30.1 per cent) of all nursing homes ‘require improvement’ or are ‘inadequate’, according to care Quality commission reports.

Most regions have experienced care problems, with 93 per cent of areas having homes that need improvement.

the figures highlight the postcode lottery in the provision of quality local care across the country.

More than a third of nursing homes in the north and a quarter in the South either needed improvement or were deemed inadequate.

the issue is particularly acute in central london, where Westminster has a 50 per cent rate of failing homes, despite being under the nose of MPs at the Houses of Parliament. in the royal Borough of Kensington and chelsea in london, where Grenfell tower is situated, 75 per cent of nursing homes require improvement.

in Salford, 64.3 per cent or more were rated as ‘requiring improvement’ or ‘inadequate’, while coventry had 60 per cent and north tyneside 62.6 per cent.

in Wakefield, 52.6 per cent, are rated as ‘requiring improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ with 58.3 per cent in Wolverhampton. elsewhere, half of nursing homes in Hull, newham, telford and Wrekin, the Wirral and Derby were found to be failing.

the survey underlines the crisis in england’s broken care system, which provides substandard care at sky-high prices. the Mail revealed this year how social care was struggling so much that four in ten care homes failed inspections. Of the 5,300 inspected this year, 2,000 were inadequate or in need of improvement.

care home residents have to use their assets to pay the full costs of their care until they are down to just £23,500. the cost of their care is taken off the value of their home after they die, denying thousands of children their inheritance.

David cameron pledged to introduce a cap of £75,000 on care costs two years ago, but this has been shelved until after 2020. During the election, theresa May announced a plan for families to keep £100,000 of their assets but with no upper cap on costs. However, it was abandoned after critics dubbed it the ‘dementia tax’.

the new figures were provided to labour by the cQc and are based on its most recent investigations. Barbara Keeley, labour’s social care spokesman, said a lack of nurse training places and bursaries had hit staffing levels.

‘nursing care providers are struggling to recruit and retain staff,’ she said.