One in seven care home beds in Kirklees were lost last year despite an increasing demand for places, health chiefs have revealed.
The district lost 258 out of some 1,750 beds in 2015, according to a report presented to Huddersfield NHS chiefs.
The number of beds fell last year following the closure of several care homes in the town, some due to financial concerns, others because they failed to meet Care Quality Commission standards.
And the report presented to Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which manages Huddersfield’s NHS services, said there was a risk of further losses.
The report said: “Within Kirklees, during the last 12 months, 258 beds have been closed with 171 being residential care home beds only. Some of these have been following CQC regulatory inspections and some business decisions.
“There is a risk that remaining beds available will not meet future requirements and that further Care Homes may close due to financial viability and their inability to maintain standards.”
One home which closed last October was Ashleigh Care Home in Newsome. A CQC inspection report published later revealed the home was rated “inadequate” in all categories. During the visit an inspector saved a resident whose face had become pressed into a mattress. They could hardly breathe and had turned blue.
Despite the closures health bosses say demand for care home beds is increasing rapidly.
Kirklees Council health chief Dianne Green told a council health scrutiny panel that elderly people requiring care home places was “an absolute growth area.”
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Local health watchdog Healthwatch Kirklees warned that providing for an increasingly aged population was “perhaps the greatest challenge” faced in the borough.
Spokesman Rory Deighton said: “In the future, the pressures of an ageing population, and growing financial pressure on Kirklees Council, is perhaps the biggest challenge we face as a community.”
A Greater Huddersfield CCG spokesman said the authority was addressing potential shortages and the impact they may have on other already stretched healthcare services.
The spokesman said: “The report outlined what work is being undertaken to try and address this situation.
“The CCG is working with the local authority to develop a number of processes, including the development of a care home strategy and quality assurance framework in order to shape future requirements across Kirklees.”
Clr Viv Kendrick, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet member for vulnerable adults, said: “Demand for residential care has been falling as more people are supported to remain in their own homes or through initiatives such as extra care housing.
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“There is a natural cycle of care home beds closing and others opening and, alongside these closures, we have seen the development of new, higher quality care homes.
“Demand for nursing home beds is high and this is both a local and national issue. We are working very closely with partners in the healthcare system to plan, support and secure nursing home provision.
“Over 2015, there have been a number of initiatives where this joint working has been increasingly the case.”
