Care Home Review Indicates Worsening Quality of Care

A new report by the Royal College of Nursing (“RCN”) highlights how care homes in the UK are struggling to meet the care needs of residents. The report follows a survey of 584 care and nursing home nurses which found that staff are facing ever increasing challenges in providing care.

Most notably, the RCN found that elderly people are being admitted to care homes with more severe and complex needs, many of whom would have previously been treated in acute hospitals. This has resulted from both a lack of social care funding and tightening eligibility criteria for care needs, with local authorities often only able to fund care needs when they become critical. Of those surveyed, 48% of nurses agreed that residents with needs that ‘a care home may be inadequately equipped to meet’ were being accepted, up from 34% in 2010.

Other key issues raised include:

Inadequate staffing levels: 38% of respondents disagreed that there were enough registered nurses employed in care homes to meet residents’ needs

Inappropriate skill mix: A lack of clinic oversight was highlighted which is worrying given the ongoing ‘medicalisation’ of care homes

Poor staff retention: Low rates of pay, poor moral and a lack of training is resulting in high staff turnover rates and increased usage of agency staff

A lack of equipment: Conce
s were raised regarding the availability of equipment in care homes (such as hoists and shower chairs) with 26% of respondents indicating that they did not have access to adequate equipment and medical supplies

RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, commented: “This report paints a hugely conce
ing picture about the many daily challenges that so many nurses in care homes face in delivering high quality care. Many of these challenges are not new, but following years of underinvestment these issues have now significantly worsened.”

In response to the report, the RCN has provided a list of 9 recommendations to be addressed as ‘a matter of urgency’ covering aspects such as social care funding, staffing ratios, regulation and integration of health and social care.

The RCN survey follows various recent reports regarding the care of elderly people in the UK, and precedes a much awaited government white paper on social care expected this spring.