Care homes: averting market failure in a post-covid-19 world

TY - JOUR

T1 - Care homes: averting market failure in a post-covid-19 world

AU - Manthorpe, Jill

AU - Iliffe, Steve

PY - 2021/1/18

Y1 - 2021/1/18

N2 - We need public and political consensus about long term options. Our population is not ageing well. The proportion of older people affected by medium to high disability in England is increasing, but social care cannot meet their needs and seems curiously separate from the NHS. It took a global pandemic for data on care home capacity to be collected weekly and shared with England’s regulators and commissioners. If we assume that half of older people with medium to high disability are cared for in their own homes, by 2025 an additional 71 000 care home places could be needed. Some 5500 organisations operate care homes; 90% of these are private providers, including some charities. The five largest chains in England provide only 15% of places. Around 70% of providers have three or fewer care homes.

AB - We need public and political consensus about long term options. Our population is not ageing well. The proportion of older people affected by medium to high disability in England is increasing, but social care cannot meet their needs and seems curiously separate from the NHS. It took a global pandemic for data on care home capacity to be collected weekly and shared with England’s regulators and commissioners. If we assume that half of older people with medium to high disability are cared for in their own homes, by 2025 an additional 71 000 care home places could be needed. Some 5500 organisations operate care homes; 90% of these are private providers, including some charities. The five largest chains in England provide only 15% of places. Around 70% of providers have three or fewer care homes.

U2 - 10.1136/bmj.n118

DO - 10.1136/bmj.n118

M3 - Editorial

VL - 372

JO - British Medical Journal

JF - British Medical Journal

IS - 118

M1 - 372:n118

ER -