Quality of care homes 'varies widely'
Commercial insurance
9th June 2009
There is wide variation in the quality of care homes but there are some "extremely good" facilities in existence, a charity has claimed.
According to a spokesperson for Age Concern and Help the Aged, some care homes are "very expensive" and others fail to meet the care needs of individuals.
The cost of social care is currently being considered as part of a government green paper, he explained, adding: "Care homes often get a very rough press, but there are some great care homes out there."
His comments come in the wake of a statement made by Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, in which he accused ministers of charging elderly people "huge amounts for often poor quality care".
The dementia charity head warned that a "granny crunch" could take place "unless the government acts now".
NHS figures showed that Britain had 239,100 permanent and temporary supported residents in March 2008, 62 per cent of whom were in independent residential homes.
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