CSI publishes market intelligence report

Following two years of nominal growth in beds between openings and closures, the care homes for older people market in England shrunk in 2022.

As a continuing trend over a number of years, around two care homes have closed for every one that has opened. However, the new homes are larger than those that have closed which has reduced the net loss of beds.

According to CSI Market Intelligence in its eight annual report, Say Hello Wave Goodbye 2022, 123 care homes opened against 247 closures, with a net loss of 230 beds. The openings were the lowest since 2015 and were 23% down on openings in 2021.

The openings equate to around only a 1.3% market increase, against a 2.6% decrease through closures. This is much in line with the average

Care campaign groups join forces

Leading care campaign groups the Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA) and Rights for Residents have joined forces.

Following the merger, the Rights For Residents campaign will continue under R&RA. The merged organisations are also in the process of a rebrand, including a new look and a new name which will launch over the next couple of months.

Rights for Residents was set up in the summer of 2020 by Jenny

Morrison and Diane Mayhew as a direct response to the impact of lockdown restrictions on Jenny’s mum, who was living in care at the time. The Relatives & Residents Association was set up as a charity 30 years ago by Dorothy White, who suddenly found herself shut out of decisions when her mother moved into care. Since then, the charity has been supporting older people and their families with information and advice about their rights, and number of care home openings and closures since 2015, when CSI Market Intelligence began its reporting.

On a regional basis, there were only two areas that gained beds across the year, in London and West Midlands, whilst the largest number of losses were in the South East, South West and North West.

Mike Short, Founder and Director at CSI Market Intelligence, said, ‘When one considers the commercial pressures that are being experienced within the care home market, and varied quality of stock in the marketplace, shedding 2.5% of all homes each year is not that massive. fighting for change to ensure people receive high-quality care. During the pandemic their lobbying and campaigning secured many changes to the visiting guidance.

‘However, with a fast-increasing ageing population, it is the number of new homes that needs to be higher than we have been experiencing over the last eight years.’ The report is available to download via the CSI website.

The campaigners' shared goal is to strengthen the rights of people using care services, so that everyone can enjoy a good quality of life with the support they need to thrive. In the group’s campaigning, the group says there is still so much to do as it continues its call for a new right to a Care Supporter.

Helen Wildbore, Director of the Relatives & Residents Association, said, ‘We are excited to be coming together as a united voice to fight for care rights. With the care sector on its knees, now is the time for people needing care and their families to be heard and to change the care system for good. Care must be recognised as vital to the health of the country, with the rights of people at its heart.’