News in brief

POLITICS & POLICY

Scottish Care warned the failure of talks to agree new care home fees could lead to a “huge” number of care home closures. The stark warning came after the representative body and local government body COSLA failed to agree new fee and pay levels for the National Care Home Contract.

A new website launched to gather the Scottish public’s experience of the Covid pandemic. Let’s Be Heard: Sharing Scotland’s Covid Experience is the main channel for people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 to share their experiences as part of the Covid Inquiry

Provider News

A care provider was ordered to pay £200,000 at Northamptonshire Magistrates’ Court after it failed to protect residents from avoidable risk during the Covid pandemic. Amicura, which operated the now closed Temple Court Care Home in Kettering, was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 costs to the Care Quality Commission.

Ireland, a large privately owned care home operator in Northern Ireland. The plans will see the expansion of Healthcare Ireland’s Northern Ireland portfolio to more than 40, from 25 currently, with the creation of up to 950 jobs, as well as developing sites across the rest of the UK and Ireland.

Workforce

The number of registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates grew by 30,351 to 788,638 in 2022, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. There were a record 52,148 new joiners in 2022, almost half of whom were educated overseas.

Agency nurses are paying £125 a week rent to live at a Guernsey care home because of a lack of staff accommodation to meet demand. In January the States of Guernsey took over responsibility for running the home in Saumarez Park from its previous owner in order to secure its long-term future.

Jeremy Richardson stepped down as group chief executive of Runwood Homes after less than a year in the role. Richardson, previously chief executive of Four Seasons Health Care and brighterkind, took up the post in July last year. Runwood Homes’ founder and owner, Gordon Sanders, previously chairman of the group, replaced Richardson.

English housing charity Abbeyfield began consultation on the closure of Abbeyfield House in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. The sheltered housing service, which was renovated in the 1990s, comprises seven studio flats and one larger flat. Abbeyfield confirmed it was also considering the future of two other neighbouring Abbeyfield House services.

US investment company Welltower is investing in the expansion of Healthcare

People Moves

Chief financial officer Amanda Holgate has been appointed to Anchor’s board. Holgate, who was appointed in February, has worked in the housing sector for more than eight years with recent roles including chief financial officer at Southern Housing Group. She was also deputy finance director at Family Mosaic and director of finance services at Peabody, two companies that subsequently merged their operations.