Care home quality in Southampton 'has improved'

Charity Independent Age found that 14.8 per cent of care homes in the city were rated as Inadequate or Requires Improvement following visits from health and social care watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2018.

This is an improvement on last year’s figures which were up to 22.9 per cent.

Care homes in Hampshire also fared better in the statistics, which were released by the charity this morning.

Nineteen per cent of care home in the county were placed in this bracket compared with 27 per cent in 2017.

Care providers across the country are rated by CQC inspectors as either Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate.

Despite improvements in the city, other nearby regions saw their results get worse. Independent Age’s study found that nearly half of care homes in Portsmouth were categorised in the worst categories.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of the charity, said: “Older people and their families are still facing an unenviable choice between poor care homes in some parts of the country. While it is encouraging that there has been an overall improvement in quality, this masks persistent variation in the quality of care homes.”

Cllr Warwick Payne, cabinet member for housing and adult care at Southampton City Council, said it was “delighted to see these improved figures”.