Care-home consolidation needs clearer planning, regulator warns

Large firms have expanded their share of England’s care-home market, prompting the regulator to warn that the shift needs clearer planning if the government is to build a universal care service around people’s needs.

The five biggest care-home companies increased their share of the market by 26% in two years and now own one in seven homes, according to the Care Quality Commission’s annual report. The BBC says the growth has been driven by interest from US property investors.

The CQC warns that consolidation can bring higher prices and lower quality, although it also acknowledges that larger-scale ownership can have benefits. Its chief inspector of adult social care, Chris Badger, said the market was being reshaped “largely by accident rather than design”, amid financial pressure and difficulties councils face buying services for people whose care is state-funded.

The regulator also highlighted changes in home care. Nearly a third of home-care services support four people or fewer, which the CQC says could create inefficiencies. Meanwhile, the number of small care homes has fallen over 14 years; homes combining care with nursing support are down by a quarter.

The report points to a fragile funding system in which some providers increasingly seek self-funding residents, making it harder for councils to secure care for people relying on state support. The CQC says clearer planning is needed to shape services around people’s needs.

The government has made social-care reform a priority, the BBC reports. The Department of Health and Social Care said the report showed the scale of the challenge it had inherited and said it remained committed to overhauling social care. Care England, which represents providers, called for practical support for smaller homes, citing higher employment costs, inflation and energy bills.