All I can say is that I am disappointed but hugely unsurprised by this study and don’t forget the strong linkages between care and acute presentation and that many of these poor settings will be in rural settings! This article tells us:
The worst care homes are more likely to house the poorest residents, according to official data released for the first time revealing the impact of England’s two-tier social care system.
Sixty-nine per cent of people who live in care homes in England rated as “inadequate” by Care Quality Commission inspectors have their bills paid by the state because of their limited means, the Office for National Statistics found. But in facilities ranked “outstanding” that falls to 53%.
Less than a third of the residents of inadequate care homes pay their own bills. In the best homes, such “self-funders” make up almost half of residents. Access to social care is means-tested in England and people with savings worth more than £23,250 or their own property have to pay their own way in care homes.
The correlation emerged from data that shows for the first time that just over a third of care home residents in the UK, 143,774 people, pay for all or part of their care, while the majority – 63% – have their places funded by councils. Councils pay far less for a place – often around £600 a week – than self-funders who can be charged well over £1,000.
“The evidence suggests councils aren’t being funded to provide care at adequate standards in too many cases,” said Charles Tallack, assistant director at the Health Foundation thinktank.