Crisis in nursing homes blamed on failure to recruit and retain staff
THREE-QUARTERS of nursing homes in some parts of England are failing, a new analysis of independent inspection reports shows.
A crisis in recruiting and retaining qualified staff is being blamed for the poor record of nursing homes in almost every part of the country.
It will increase pressure on the Government to find a new funding formula for social care as demand for beds in nursing homes rises with Britain’s ageing population.
Theresa May has delayed a decision on how to increase funding for social care until summer 2018, having shelved a manifesto pledge to introduce a socalled “dementia tax” to make more elderly people pay for their own care.
In the meantime an analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports on nursing homes across England shows that in 12 local authority areas, at least half of all nursing homes were rated as inadequate or needing improvement.
Virtually every English region has problems with some of its care providers, with 93 per cent of local authority areas having homes that fell below the independent regulator’s greenlight rating of “good”. In Kensington and Chelsea, 75 per cent of nursing homes required improvement. It is Britain’s wealthiest borough, and its local authority was responsible for Grenfell Tower, in which a fire claimed 71 lives earlier this year. However councils do not run nursing homes, which employ qualified nurses as well as carers.
Westminster, Britain’s second wealthiest borough, also performed badly, with 50 per cent of homes falling below standard. In Salford, 64 per cent of nursing homes were inadequate or required improvement, compared with 62 per cent in North Tyneside, 60 per cent in Coventry and 58 per cent in Wolverhampton.
In Wakefield, 52 per cent were rated inadequate or requiring improvement, along with 50 per cent in Kingston upon Hull, Newham, Telford and Wrekin, Wirral, and Derby.
Across England, nearly one in three (30 per cent) of all nursing homes fell below the CQC’S greenlight rating.
Barbara Keeley, the shadow social care minister, said Government cuts to nurse training places and bursaries “have had an impact of staffing levels, which the Care Quality Commission describes as a key factor in nursing homes being rated as inadequate or requiring improvement.”
The Labour frontbencher added: “Nursing care providers are struggling to recruit and retain staff because of a lack of registered nurses but similar trends are present across the care sector because of the impact of cuts on pay and conditions for other care staff.
“Labour will reintroduce bursaries for nurses and ease the social care crisis made in Downing Street by increasing funding by £8 billion across the Parliament with £1 billion up front this year.”
The Government has announced that it is planning to publish a green paper on care and support for older people by next summer, following initial discussions with experts and those running and living in nursing homes.
The paper will set out proposals to improve care and address the pressures caused by the country’s ageing population.