Analysis reveals Haringey has lowest care home bed capacity in England

The borough has just 108 care home beds per 1,000 people aged over 85 but council says this shows the success of efforts to help people live independently, reports Anna-Louise Adepegba

Older people in a care home (credit Age Cymru via Unsplash) — Photo by Age Cymru on Unsplash

Haringey Council claims the borough’s low care home bed capacity actually shows the success of its longstanding approach to care.

An analysis by Care Home Guide, a website providing information and data on care homes, compared care home bed capacity in each local area and found Haringey had the lowest number of beds per 1,000 people aged over 85.

Haringey has 24 care homes in total and the analysis found there is an average of 108 care home beds per 1,000 people aged 85 and over in the borough – significantly below the national average of 306 and the lowest of any local authority area in England.

But the council explains the figures by saying the figure “reflects the strong focus on community-based support, which is widely recognised as best practice”.

Care Home Guide says its findings show that care home capacity has not stabilised since its earlier findings, which showed an 18% fall between 2011 and 2015. It also estimates that the capacity “gap” could double by 2045.

Haringey Council says it prioritises supporting residents to live independently in their own homes and communities before considering long-term care home placement.

Hannah Ward, the council’s cabinet member for health, social care and wellbeing, said: “Every Haringey resident assessed as requiring residential care is supported to access an appropriate placement that meets their needs.

“Our longstanding approach prioritises helping older people to remain independent and live in their own homes as long as possible, where this is safe and appropriate.”

Among the other lowest local areas for care home capacity is Kensington and Chelsea, Hackney, Westminster and Camden, all with fewer than 160 beds, which share similar independent and community focused approaches to older adult social care.

Care Home Guide itself says the thin supply of care homes within inner London is expected, with “costs making large single story buildings for care homes harder to site” and notes that many providers are moving to surrounding counties such as Kent, Sussex and Hampshire.

However, it does not mention whether the care strategies of inner-city boroughs contribute to the lower capacity.

Cllr Ward added: “To ensure residents can access residential care, we maintain arrangements with providers across North Central London and work closely with a broad network of quality assured care homes to secure placements quickly and effectively.

“We also continually monitor demand, capacity and market conditions and are in active discussions with providers, ensuring sufficient provision both now and in the future.”

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