From the Editor: New report finds shrinking care sector and net loss of beds
The Care Home Environment Magazine
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A CSI Market Intelligence report has found that the care home market is shrinking, with two homes closing for every one opening.
After two years of overall growth in bed numbers, CSI’s new?Say Hello Wave Goodbye 2022?report has found that, over the course of last year, while 123 care homes opened, 247 care homes closed, with a net loss of 230 beds. Care home openings in 2022 were the lowest since 2015 – and were 23 per cent down on openings in 2021. However, there were slightly fewer closures in 2022 than there were in 2021, and the share of closures of homes rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission dropped from 48 per cent in 2021 to 40.9 per cent in 2022.
The openings equate to around only 1.3 per cent market increase, against a 2.6 per cent decrease through closures. This is in line with the average number of care home openings and closures since 2015, when CSI Market Intelligence began reporting on this issue.
In all, just 11 providers were responsible for one third of all new openings.
On a regional basis, there were only two regions – London and the West Midlands – that gained beds across the year, while the largest number of losses were in the South East, South West, and North West.
Local authority provider Sussex Health Care fared worst of all, closing all six of its care homes and being de-registered as a provider. In total, over the course of 2022, over 100 providers were either de-registered or exited the older person care market entirely.
In the not-for-profit sector, only seven homes were opened in 2022, while 34 not-for-profit homes closed their doors – a net loss of 627 beds.
CSI Market Intelligence noted that, overall, the net loss of beds has been mitigated to a certain degree by the fact that new homes tend to be larger than those that close. According to the report, the private sector now controls around 84 per cent of the care home market. The public care sector, meanwhile, has a market share of around just 2.5 per cent. This is set to shrink, however, with CSI finding that there were around six closures for every opening in the public sector.
The trend, then, continues to be a shift towards larger, privately-owned homes at the ‘expense’ of smaller operators and the public sector. Which may or may not be a good thing, but at a time of pressing demand, the fact that bed numbers are dropping is surely cause for alarm.
The CSI Market Intelligence report can be seen HERE
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