Pensioners are facing growing competition for places in care homes, fueling bed blocking in hospitals, alarming research shows

Older Britons are facing growing competition for a place in a care home, with as many as 170 pensioners per bed in some areas, an alarming study has found.

A new analysis from the House of Commons Library shows that the supply of nursing home places has failed to keep pace with a growing and aging population.

The number of OAPs per care home has increased by 14 percent from 761 in 2018 to 867 this year, while the number per bed has increased by 6 percent from 25 to 27.

However, a ‘grim postcode lottery’ means that rates per bed vary locally from 11.64 in Southport to 169.7 in the cities of London and Westminster – a difference fifteen times greater.

Remarkably, the number of pensioners per bed has more than doubled in some constituencies over the past six years.

Pensioners face growing competition for places in care homes as capacity fails to keep pace with a growing and aging population (file photo)

The number of OAPs per bed varies locally from 11.64 in Southport to 169.7 in the cities of London and Westminster (file photo)

Health leaders warn the shortage is driving up the number of beds in hospitals, slowing the rate at which new patients can be admitted to emergency departments and shortening waiting lists.

NHS England said more than 12,000 hospital beds a day are filled with patients who doctors consider medically fit for discharge but who cannot leave.

The Liberal Democrats, who commissioned the research, say the findings expose a “grim postcode lottery” and show that the previous Conservative government “failed the elderly and their loved ones”.

The party has called for cross-party talks on social care to save the future of healthcare.

In Hornsey and Wood Green the number of over 65s per care home bed has increased by 130 per cent, from 45 to 103, in Wythenshawe and Sale East by almost 70 per cent and in Leeds North East by 62 per cent.

The number of pensioners per bed has now reached 150 in some areas.

In Cities of London and Westminster it is 170, Orpington 167, and in Hackney South and Shoreditch 147.

A total of 394 of the 536 constituencies in England and Wales have seen an increase in the number of pensioners per care home bed in recent years.

About 88 percent of constituencies saw an increase in the number of over-65s per care home.

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: ‘These figures expose a grim postcode lottery that has pensioners and their loved ones deeply concerned about the quality of care they will be able to receive, if they can find it at all.

‘The blame for this crisis lies squarely with the previous Conservative government, which failed older people and their loved ones and refused to take the necessary action to save our healthcare sector and give pensioners the dignity they deserve in their later years .

‘Saving the NHS and healthcare is the biggest challenge this country faces, so we urgently need cross-party talks to ensure everyone gets the care they deserve.’

About 88 percent of constituencies saw an increase in the number of people over 65 per care home (archive photo)

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of trade body Care England, said: ‘With an aging population and an increase in the number of people with dementia, there will be a need for more care home places, but also more community care and support. .

‘There is an urgent need for a planned national approach from the Government to ensure there are sufficient services to meet current and future needs.’

Rory Deighton, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These figures are further evidence of the chronic pressures facing the social care sector.

‘The increase in the number of retirees per care home is staggering and shows the widening gap between demand and capacity across the country.

‘Like social care, the NHS is also trying to manage rising demand from an older population with more complex health problems.

“We have called for greater support for social care, in particular an equal workforce plan to increase staffing and capacity.

‘As winter approaches, we have also called for immediate funding to support the health and care sector.

‘Some of this should be invested in increasing social and community care capacity.

‘The health and social care sectors are inextricably linked, with bottlenecks on one side leading to delays on the other.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the crisis exposed the ‘postcode lottery’ in care home capacity

‘Our members report that the lack of capacity in community and social care is a key factor why so many patients remain stuck in hospital, despite being medically fit to leave.

‘This in turn can lead to long waiting times in emergency departments and delays in handovers at the front door of hospitals.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Social care is broken and it is unacceptable that so many people are left without the care they need.

‘We are committed to building a National Care Service, underpinned by national standards and delivered locally, to ensure everyone can get the care they need.’