NEWS RELEASE FROM THE
REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION
Issued 21st December 2005
MORE NURSING HOMES MEETING CARE STANDARDS -
BUT RNHA CALLS FOR FUNDING REVIEW
TO SUPPORT FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS
Figures just released which show that the proportion of nursing homes meeting more than 90 per cent of national minimum standards of care has risen threefold during the past two years have been welcomed by the Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA).
The RNHA said the annual report of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), published this month, highlights the significant improvements achieved by nursing homes caring for older people since the standards were originally introduced by the government.
Inspections conducted by CSCI teams during 2004/05 found that 21 per cent of nursing homes were meeting over 90 per cent of standards. This figure is three times higher than the 7 per cent of nursing homes that were meeting over 90 per cent of standards in 2002/03.
Nursing homes inspected over the past year were found on average to be meeting 71 per cent of standards, compared with 60 per cent in 2002/03.
The trends are moving in the right direction, says the RNHA, which also points to the fact that more nursing homes are now meeting the standards in 37 out of 38 categories compared with just two years ago.
But, the RNHA warns, too many of the standards are bureaucratic in nature, measuring administrative processes rather than health outcomes. Only about one fifth of the existing standards relate to nursing and health care provided to patients.
RNHA chief executive officer, Frank Ursell, commented: “Nursing homes argued right at the outset that the standards set by the government were not necessarily the right ones. We applaud the Commission for recognising this problem and we hope that, when it has completed its current review of standards, we shall see a system emerge that focuses on the quality of care rather than on paperwork and ticking boxes for the sake of it.”
Mr Ursell criticised CSCI, however, for failing to deal equitably with public bodies which commission and fund services for older people on the one hand and those bodies in the independent sector, including nursing homes, which provide services.
“We want to see CSCI adopting a more vigorous approach towards the commissioners of services,” he said. “We also want to see a greater link made by CSCI between the amount of resources that commissioners, including local authorities and primary care trusts, are willing to put into the care or older people and the standards they expect from those who provide the care.”
He added: “Nursing homes do not think it is right that they should have to meet the full cost of regulation while there is such a lack of fairness and transparency in the system.”
The continuing decline in the number of care homes for older people - down by nearly 10 per cent between March 2003 and March 2005 according to CSCI figures - is also identified by the RNHA as a major cause for concern.
“It means that older people who need residential nursing care have less choice now than they did only two years ago,” said Mr Ursell. “Yet with the proportion of over-75s in the UK set to rise significantly over the next twenty to thirty years, there is likely to be a need for more rather than fewer places in nursing homes.”
He added: “What we need to see is a level of funding for older people’s care that matches the growing level of need. However, the fees paid to nursing homes by social services and the NHS do not cover the full costs of the care provided, do not support a level of wages for care staff that would encourage them to stay in the long-term care sector, and do not permit nursing home owners to invest as much as they would like to in modernising and improving their facilities.
“Unless or until these funding issues are grasped head on, it is unrealistic to expect nursing homes to be able to deliver the quality of service they and the Commission for Social Care Inspection aspire to see delivered. At the same time as the current national minimum care standards are being reviewed, the Government ought to be reviewing the amount of public money needed to ensure continued improvements in care. These two issues are inextricably linked, however unpalatable that might be to the politicians and decision-makers.”
END
Notes to editors:
1. The Registered Nursing Home Association represents around 1,300 registered nursing homes.
2. The Commission for Social Care Inspection has published a report, The State of Social Care in England 2004, which contains figures on trends in the number of homes and places available for older people, as well as a commentary on trends in meeting national minimum care standards.
For further information and comment, please contact:
Frank Ursell, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nursing Home Association
(Tel: 0121-454 2511 or mobile 07785 227000)
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