A report from Laing & Buisson has claimed that the number of care home places for the elderly has continued to decrease in the UK, declining by 8,700 by the year ending April 2005. Of those, 3,800 were cut back in the private sector, while a further 4,900 places were lost in local authority run residential homes and continuing care places in local hospitals.
The report also found that last year, the amount of care home places was reduced by a steeper margin than this year, with 6,600 residential places were lost in the independent sector. Demand for care also fell slightly, which the company believe has encouraged the Government to consider that the traditional care home sector is on the decline, and will eventually be replaced by alternatives, such as home care and extra care.
Our view
Care in later life is a difficult and frightening topic for individual, family and Government alike.
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