Providers claim third of Sheffield care home beds could face closure within weeks

Leaders of the sector spoke out about the threat in a recent study by Sheffield Care Association amid a “collapse in confidence” in Sheffield Council and compounded financial pressure.

Nicola Richards, who runs Palms Row Health Care and is the chair of the Sheffield Care Association, said some providers already had to make redundancies.

"It feels like we will be putting the city at risk if we have these bed closures," she said.

"To think that we would need to have any discussions with staff around redundancies just feels immoral given what we have been through.

"We need to protect our residents' homes, we need to protect our staff and their jobs and to be able to give them reassurance.

"We should not be worrying about the finances now, we should be focussed on keeping our residents and staff safe and well but there is a real concern around what the future holds for us.

"We can't afford homes to be forced to the wall, it's like a cliff edge - we're dangling and we don't want it to get to us closing doors and saying 'we can't afford to do this anymore' and that is how tight it is.

"If that happens it brings a huge risk of moving residents, which goes against the guidance for covid19, we have a high risk resident group potentially being moved to different locations."

She said the council committed to supporting beds up to the end of July and after that they do not know what support they will get.

The Association said a combination of fewer admissions, a rise in deaths and a lack of support from the council during the coronavirus crisis on top of historic underfunding to adult social care was to blame. It added most care homes need to operate at near full capacity to remain viable.

Ms Richards added: “The long-term funding of Sheffield’s care sector must be guaranteed.

“We are aware that there are some estimations that Sheffield has too many beds in care homes, but we need a structured approach to managing this reduction, not forcing care homes to the wall at a time of crisis which may happen if homes do not receive adequate financial support from Sheffield Council.

“If they do not get support when they need it more than ever, residents will be fearful of their future, families anxious and the hard-working staff who have sacrificed so much in recent months will be betrayed.”

Managers and providers from 25 care homes, overseeing 885 care beds, which equates to around 20 percent in Sheffield, took part in the survey.

They predicted they would need to lose 34 percent of beds in order to balance the books - which would mean the loss of hundreds of spaces.

A third of those who took part also claimed the local authority support during the covid19 crisis was “inadequate” with another 23 percent going further and branding it “woeful”.

Half stated additional funding from the council was also insufficient.

Bal Kharia, owner of Vitality Care Homes, is also a member of the Sheffield Care Association and said: “Care homes in Sheffield have been in a fragile state for a number of years and this was before the covid19 crisis began. Recent events have put us under intense pressure and the Association is extremely concerned that care homes will soon face closure.

“The people this will affect hardest are the most vulnerable in our communities – our residents. It will also have a huge impact on our dedicated and loyal staff who have worked miracles during the COVID-19 response.

“We need a cast iron commitment from the council to guarantee funding levels, protect our services and an independent review of the cost of care in the city."

Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, said he raised the issue with the council earlier this week and has now called for an urgent meeting to be held between the council and care home bosses.

He said: “I’m deeply concerned. Sheffield Council seriously needs to take heed of what’s been said and take a look at the issues.

“I think it needs to be looked at urgently at some sort of emergency meeting, ideally the scrutiny board and be open to the press and public.

“This is becoming quite critical, if a third of our beds our lost then I think there will be a lot of trouble built up that will hit us hard when the weather gets colder and people who are vulnerable will start to get ill again. If people who are in hospitals who could be in care homes, our NHS may not be able to cope like it has done.”

George Lindars-Hammond, cabinet member for health and social care at the council, said: “We’ve provided significant extra funding to care homes to compensate for an increase in the number of empty beds and for other costs associated with covid19.

“We are working with the sector to establish what further support may be required beyond this point and in two months time our annual consultation review process will start, which will cover fees. At this point, our fees are broadly in line with other neighbouring authorities.

“We know that care homes are under extreme pressure and we thank them for everything they are doing to continue to provide services for our older residents who need care. I am working with officers closely and we are in regular contact with all of our care homes to offer what support we can to all of them.”

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