‘Naive to think more homes are not at risk’

Cathy Bailey, chairwoman of the Guernsey Care Home Managers Association, said that there were a number of issues facing care home operators and said it would be ‘naive’ to think otherwise.

She does not expect the States to continue to step in to support the sector, as it has with the purchase of St John’s Residential Home in Saumarez Park, but a senior States member has said he fears a continued creep of ‘nationalisation’ of the sector.

Mrs Bailey said that costs at all care homes had escalated in the last few years, especially since the double impact of Covid and Brexit, which has led to difficulties in recruiting staff.

While she did not want to cause worries in the community, she said that some care providers might find the going too difficult to continue in due course.

‘While I’m not aware of any other homes having problems, there’s a possibility they may review their situation in the future,’ she said.

‘I think the situation at St John’s was unique as the States owned the asset. I don’t think it is a scenario that would apply to other care homes. The States have always said they want to be a commissioner, not a provider of care.

‘But I cannot predict what they would do if another private care home got into difficulties.’

St John’s, with 45 care beds, is being taken over by the States after concerns over costs and, primarily, the challenges of being based in a States-owned listed building, almost forced it to close.

Mrs Bailey said that the care home sector was still counting the cost of having to deal with Covid.

‘Covid cost an incredible amount of money for all the individual homes. So whenever you have any sort of outbreak in a home, and everybody has to go into full PPE, then that cost has to be is borne by the home, and so that is a massive impact.

‘Our insurance, for example has gone up 300% because of Covid, we’re paying more for oil and gas for heating, we’ve had to put wages up considerably. All of these things add up to an incredible amount of money.

‘I think it would be naive to say that some, particularly some of the smaller homes, that there aren’t challenges and risks.

‘We have seen a reduction in beds from even 24 months ago. And really what the States want is for more people to come onto the market for more providers. But you have to have the incentives to do it.’

Deputy Lyndon Trott has said he was concerned about the States’ decision to take over the home and purchase a staff house, with significant ongoing costs for the taxpayer. He was also worried about the potential for the ‘nationalisation’ of the sector.

‘It is a completely understandable fear that many people have about the introduction of GST is that the size of the public sector will expand, and that is certainly the experience elsewhere,’ he said.

‘If the driver for an increasing tax take is the increasingly elderly demographic, then it follows that care and care homes are front and centre of that discussion, and so it doesn’t take, therefore, a huge leap to see that more “nationalisation” of this kind of care home providers is more likely than not.’

Demand for care home beds is certain to escalate in the future but the likelihood of further investment in this area by private businesses is far from clear.