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February 2010
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no.165 • £4.75 In association with
‘Excellent’ homes put in jeopardy By Dominic Musgrave ‘GOOD’ and ‘excellent’ care homes will close in a Devon seaside resort unless the council increases its fees, it has been claimed. And Clare Hunter, director and one of the founders of the Torbay Quality Care Forum, says the town’s Care Trust spends £44-a-week per person below the average spent in other parts of the South West. She told Caring UK the residential care sector is one of the largest employers in the region, with more than 80 per cent of fee income spent on wages and other locally sourced products and services. Clare, who runs two homes in Torquay, added: “We are most concerned that this will impact on resident care as homes cannot afford to meet the standards demanded by CQC, the Trust’s own requirements, and indeed the reasonable expectations of every council taxpayer in the area. A care home’s operating costs are closely linked to inflation, with around two thirds being wages and these driven by government determined minimum wage increases. Other costs,
including energy, water, food and repairs are closely linked to inflation, if not above average inflation in many cases.” And she warned this could have an adverse affect on the quality of care being provided. Clare added: “It is very difficult, if not impossible, to economise on items without compromising on standards and that can only have one result – a decline in the quality of resident care. There is a serious risk of ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ rated homes closing. A loss of supply now will mean shortages and higher prices in the future.” Owners of a care home that was heavily criticised in a BBC documentary have met with officials to discuss some of the findings. Torbay Care Trust representatives met with representatives from ADL Care owned Woodland House in Torquay to discuss some of the ‘below acceptable standards’ in the documentary ‘Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia? A trust spokesman said a member of its staff had been allocated to the care home after Gerry aired concerns about the type of care provided for the 30 dementia patients.
Snow fails to keep chef from her kitchen
Television celebrity Tommy Walsh officially opened a £2m extension at a Kent nursing home. The former Ground Force favourite cut the ribbon on the new extension and refurbishment at Canford Healthcare’s Barty House, which will provide an additional 27 en suite bedrooms and potentially create an additional 60 jobs.
THE wintry weather proved no obstruction to a chef at a West Yorkshire care home. Louisa Pickles, who works in the kitchens at Abbeyfield Residential Home in Ilkley, ran through seven miles of deep snow to cook up a tasty lunch for residents. The 29-year-old usually takes a bus to work, but the service ran into difficulties following heavy snowfall, and she was forced to abandon her attempts to take the car after getting into difficulties on a steep hill. But Louisa, a member of a local running club, made the decision to dash home and change into her running gear before setting off at a steady pace. She said: “I needed to get to work because I knew that they had no cover for that day. My boss was away on holiday and the other cook had the day off so there was nothing for it but to run to work.” For more about the wintry conditions turn to Page 12