Chronic under-funding and the national living wage will cause a loss of 37,000 beds in Britain’s care homes and result in a £3bn yearly bill for the NHS, which may get passed onto self-funders, according to think-tank ResPublica.
According to the 15-page report: The Care Collapse: The imminent crisis in residential care and its impact on the NHS, a 17 per cent reduction in local authority spending since 2009/10 on care for the elderly has created a shortfall of between £31-£50 a resident against the cost of provision, and by 2020/21 the sector will need an extra £1.1bn a year.