As yet another planning application is lodged to convert a former care home into a residential property, a Freedom of Information request reveals the startling news that the Isle of Wight has been stripped of more than 400 residential care beds since 2010.
A staggering 19 residential care homes have been closed in the last 14 years, removing 412 residential beds.
A care crisis
For several years there has been what was dubbed by the former-Cabinet member for Adult Social Care, a ‘care crisis’ on the Isle of Wight.
A number of factors have contributed, from care homes closing, to a lack of trained staff, as well as patients remaining in hospital due to a lack of beds in care homes, despite being signed off to leave.
Not surprisingly, this latter issue has had a detrimental impact on the NHS, and St Mary’s Hospital in particular, who have had to declare critical incidents a number of times over the past decade.
The figures don’t always tell the full story
Despite the figures looking pretty stark, it’s worth noting that headline stats don’t always tell the full story, as the Cabinet member responsible for Adult Social Care, Councillor Debbie Andre, explained to News OnTheWight,
“Historically the Isle of Wight has had an over reliance on bed-based care provision. Residential and Nursing provision are an essential part of our suite of care options for Isle of Wight residents.
“However, they are not the only options that we offer. The Care Act 2014 has been clear that Local Authorities should focus on meeting an individual’s assessed needs, and not just fitting them into the services available.”
Alternative ways for people to receive care
Councillor Andre went on to add,
“Although we have seen an overall reduction in residential homes and bed capacity over the last ten years, we have also invested and supported the setup of alternative ways for people to receive care.
“During this time we have encouraged the development of care accommodation alternatives such as Ryde Village and Green Meadows, which between them have provided 177 flats and bungalows with Extra Care support.”
Vacancies in the care sector
As reported by News OnTheWight in 2021, the then-Cabinet member for Adult Social Care, Karl Love, said, “The Isle of Wight is in desperate need of care staff”.
At the time, there were more than 300 job vacancies in Isle of Wight care sector. However, according to the Skills for Care (SFC) summary report 2022/2023, the number of care vacancies on the Isle of Wight had skyrocketed to more than 450.
SFC estimated that the staff turnover rate on the Isle of Wight was 45.9 per cent, much higher than the region average of 31.9 per cent, and higher still than England (28.3 per cent). Around 12 per cent of that workforce were on zero-hours contracts, compared to 22 per cent in England, but more than half were on full time contracts.
More support at home: “A significantly better suite of care and support options“
The Cabinet member went on to add,
“The new domiciliary care model has seen an increase of 52 per cent more people being supported at home by domiciliary care agencies. The Personal Assistants (PA) hub currently has 240 Active PAs providing further support at home via personal budgets.
“This evidences a change in how we think about care and support and provides a significantly better suite of care and support options than were available ten years ago to enable us to meet the needs of each individual.”
Unpaid carers and rise in aging population
Data released from the 2021 census also revealed that in 2021 more than 14,000 residents on the Isle of Wight provided unpaid care for others.
At the same time, the Census data also reported an increase of 24.7 per cent in residents aged 65 years+, compared to 20.1 per cent in England.
Care costs
In 2022/23 there was an average increase in care home fees of 4.89 per cent and homecare increased by 5.69 per cent.
In the 2022/23 period, care home fees increased on average by 7.29 per cent and homecare 7.69 per cent.
Full details of what the council pays care homes for council funded service users can be seen in the table below.
| Residential - Low Standard | £583.03 p/w |
| Residential - Low Dementia | £610.54 p/w |
| Residential - Low Learning Disability | £640.15 p/w |
| Residential - Moderate Standard & Dementia | £717.78 p/w |
| Residential - Moderate Learning Disability £927.57 p/w | |
| Residential - High Standard & Dementia | £837.20 p/w |
| Residential Complex care | Individual price |
| Nursing - Standard | £799.19 |
| Nursing - Complex | £922.25 |
| Nursing - High Complex | Individual price |
