Care overview
Preparing for the care home of tomorrow
Ralph Skornia, customer segment manager at Miele Professional, shares his insight on the state of the care industry in the UK
The demand for care has significantly increased over the past few decades, driven by an ageing population, advances in medical technology that have extended people’s lifespan, as well as a change in societal attitudes towards the nature of ageing and care. This is a phenomenon that is happening across Europe, with research showing that the population of older people will rise to 130 million by 2050 compared to the 90.5 million recorded at the start of 2019. Despite this growing demand for care, the industry faces a number of challenges, including a shortage of trained staff, increasing regulation burdens, and soaring costs. While care homes struggled with these issues long before the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 has undoubtedly heightened these problems, putting more pressure on those working on the frontline. This has left the industry in a fragile condition, with less resilience to tackle future disruption. The current energy crisis, for example, will likely cause price hikes to gas and electric bills for care operators, forcing home closures unless the government intervenes. To help strengthen the industry in the long term and prepare for the care home of tomorrow, it is crucial to address the issues of today. After all, this is a topic that is important to every individual, as each one of us is getting older and many of us already have elderly relatives.
In 2022, Miele Professional conducted research into the state of the UK care industry to explore how senior care professionals managed during the pandemic and how this will impact their operations in the future. Results were not only collated from a survey which was distributed to care homes across the
April 2023
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
UK but also through a forum where care home managers and owners discussed their individual circumstances. The findings show several areas of concern that share similar themes with our European neighbours.
It starts with cost The survey exposed that many care homes have a lack of funding and resources to help them manage their everyday challenges. This is echoed by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) which states that 94 per cent of councils do not have sufficient resources needed to fund care in the short term, whereas three quarters of ADASS directors believe that they would not be able to cope if a large care provider failed. In short, budgets are now at breaking point – and more money is needed
Many care homes have a lack of funding and resources to help them manage their everyday challenges
for the system to be strengthened. Care home costs vary widely across Europe. England, for example, relies on the elderly making large contributions towards the cost of their own care; this currently accounts for around 33 per cent of overall spend on long-term care, with the remainder funded by the state. Germany operates a mandatory insurance system with out-of-pocket expenditure expected for anything above basic care. Italy is notable for its highly localised system, which can lead to a greater variance in quality and funding of services, but in Italian culture caring for older people is widely seen as a family responsibility, meaning care homes are not always the first choice for elderly care. Belgium has a publicly funded elderly care system with provisions available to help older generations remain comfortably in their home as long as possible. Scandinavian countries are by far the biggest spenders, according to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with around 3.5 per cent or more of GDP dedicated to caring for people with long-term care needs. Age UK states that, despite some countries
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