The parlous financial state of the UK’s domiciliary care sector has been the subject of increasing debate and public concern since government austerity measures began to bite into local authority budgets and as the largest by far cost component for most domiciliary care providers, labour costs have risen inexorably to increasingly unsustainable levels. Company Watch and Opus Restructuring have now
FT reporter, Gill Plimmer writes that the UK’s care home industry is “on the brink of collapse” with companies either going bankrupt or pulling out of contracts. This is the conclusion of a joint report published by the Local Government Information Unit and one of the largest providers, Mears. Mears says it loses £3m a year on its home care business
When whatever it is that they’re protesting about gets waved through by the government, we tend to forget protesters. Even before their arguments get discarded by officialdom, their credibility can suffer, as the IR35 petition has shown, writes Nick Hood, business risk adviser at Opus Restructuring. But spare a thought today for all those who challenged the T&S legislation, which came into force nearly
Josh Robbins reports for the International Business Times on the financial and operational crisis engulfing the social care system in the UK. Domiciliary care companies have cancelled contracts with nearly half of the UK’s councils because they were not being offered enough money to break even, according to the BBC. Its research also found that one in four home care providers
The BBC reports that home care firms have cancelled contracts with 95 UK councils, saying they cannot deliver services for the amount they are being paid, a BBC Panorama investigation has found. Some firms said they could not recruit or retain the staff they needed. The Local Government Association said it was the result of “historic under-funding” and an ageing
Tucked between glitzy shops on London’s upmarket King’s Road is one of Britain’s most expensive nursing homes. Opened last year by hotelier Laurence Geller, Chelsea Court is more like a private club than a care home. It contains just 15 luxurious suites costing from £2,000 to £3,000 per week for residents with dementia. Although other private nursing homes offer high-end
