One in five Staffordshire care homes falling short of care standards, report says

There are currently around 250 cares homes in the county, providing over 8,000 beds.

Approximately 50 care homes are rated as “requires improvement” or “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Staffordshire County Council is currently paying for more than 3,000 spaces in care homes overall, comprised of more than 2,000 in residential homes and over 1,000 in nursing homes.

The remaining beds are commissioned by the NHS, other local authorities or self-funded individuals.

The county’s director of health and care Dr Richard Harling said the council is currently funding about 300 places in care homes which do not achieve decent standards.

An update to councillors highlighted: “Care homes and their staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to maintain care for some of the most vulnerable people in the county.

“Overall, they have provided the best possible care under incredibly challenging circumstances.

“Care homes have had to introduce new infection and prevention control measures, including isolation and restrictions on visiting, and despite these many have had outbreaks of Covid.

“The impact on the mental and emotional wellbeing of residents and staff has been considerable.”

It added that care homes are currently experiencing a fresh wave of cases due to the Omicron variant.

The council said it wants to improve the quality of care homes in Staffordshire.

It’s set itself the target of increasing the number that are rated as ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by the CQC within the next three to five years to meet the national average.

The report adds: “Where care homes are repeatedly identified by CQC as below regulatory standards and unable to demonstrate a capacity for sustained improvement despite support, the council will consider whether it can continue to make new placements as well as moving residents where this is in their interests on a balance of risks.”

Councillor Julia Jessel, cabinet member for health and care, said: “The report does identify that we have a number of homes within Staffordshire that have CQC ratings of ‘requiring improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.

“I’m very keen that actually we do support those homes but we expect to see progress.

“And where no progress is seen to be made we may have to make decisions in terms of whether we continue to refer placements to them.

“I want to see Staffordshire’s care homes at least as good as the national average.”

She said the council would be increasing the number of block-bookings it makes, which she said will add stability to the care home market.

Staffordshire County Council is also considering building two new council-owned nursing homes.

Meanwhile, it is supporting an ongoing recruitment drive and working with the NHS to try to help services operate smoothly.

The announcements come as the government introduces a cap of £86,000 that an individual will have to pay towards their care.

It’s understood there will be an increased burden on council budgets as a new ‘fairer funding’ model for care homes is introduced.