The adult social care crisis facing the UK is well documented. A care beds availability crisis supports the case for Cranleigh Village Health Trust.
A new study by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), shows how the UK’s ability to support tens of millions of older people will collapse by 2029 – unless the Government takes decisive action.
Within the report, several contributing factors were identified, including current care home capacity, state funding levels and pension wealth. These factors will lead to a shortage of supply in residential retirement homes by 2029 at the latest.
The report shows the care funding shortfall is predicted to rise by 57% from £1.5bn for 2020/21 to £3.5bn in five years.
Also within the report are startling statistics around dementia, with the ageing population leading to a dramatic rise in diagnosis rates. The Alzheimer’s Society predicts one million people will have dementia by 2025, doubling to two million by 2050.
Another contributing factor to the care crisis is a widening wealth gap which risks creating a tired later life care system. Only the top 10% of retired households by income can afford to pay for their care from income.
Care home capacity is also an urgent issue. There are 460,000 beds available in the UK this year, but the pressure of the ageing population is soon expected to squeeze capacity.
The UK is forecast to experience a shortage in the supply of beds in residential care homes by 2029.
It’s this forecast shortage in the supply of residential care beds that Cranleigh Village Health Trust (CVHT) will help to address with its proposals for the village.
Cranleigh Village Health Trust (CVHT), in partnership with HC-One, NHS Guildford and Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group (G&W CCG), Surrey County Council (SCC) and the Royal Surrey County Hospital (RSCH), is proposing the return of community beds to Cranleigh.
The project will deliver 20 community beds for both NHS and SCC nursing care, prioritised for patients from Cranleigh and the surrounding villages, replacing the 14 beds in Cranleigh Village Hospital that were closed in 2006. In addition, the project will create affordable accommodation for healthcare workers employed locally.
The new facilities will be located in the heart of the village off Knowle Lane, adjacent to the Village Way car park and will also include 60 open-market care home beds, operated by HC-One.
Baroness Ros Altmann, former Pensions Minister and a leading independent expert on the UK’s later life issues, said:
The sooner we all start planning for care, the better. There are measures families can take, but there are also important policy reforms which could help alleviate this crisis. The recommendations of this report should be taken seriously by Government.
