Breakfast seminar

‘In a contracting economy, with costs going up at the same time, is there a reason to invest in this particular space – that’s the question,’ Dr Chai Patel told delegates.

 

One structural impediment was that the industry was built on minimum and entry-level wages, he said, with staff often moving between the healthcare, hospitality and retail sectors. ‘But can you really deliver high quality services for an increasingly frail, complicated and elderly clientele on that basis? Eventually the quality will suffer.’

 

The profile of older people in care had changed, he said, something the regulatory framework had been slow to keep up with. ‘Costs can only go up, unless you don’t do what you’re required to do. You can’t be any more efficient – staff work very hard. To be seen as great operators because we can squeeze the prices down is not the way forward.’

 

The fact that the sector had dual regulators also had a serious impact on occupancy rates, he stressed, as it was difficult to challenge an embargo, and one of the main challenges of a fragmented industry was making a united stand to the regulator. ‘All of this creates an incredibly tough environment to operate in.’

 

Another increasingly difficult factor was the ‘crescendo’ of media coverage, with all aspects of health and social care now regularly challenged. ‘You can’t wake up on any day without a story about healthcare issues – whether it’s the attitude of nurses or how older people aren’t getting a good deal. The cumulative effect is very powerful.’  

 

Something ‘extraordinary’ had taken place with the Paralympics, however, he said. ‘People redefined what disability was in their minds, and one of these days we’re going to have a reconfiguration of age as well. To define people by their age is nonsense, but it exists – we’re on the cusp of having to redefine a number of things.’

 

A very large percentage of older people also currently died in hospital, when they would prefer to die at home or elsewhere, he said. ‘As a society we’re very bad at talking about these issues.’ Training was essential, he stressed, so that staff were comfortable delivering end-of-life care rather than simply ‘calling an ambulance’.

 

The next few years would undoubtedly be tough, he told the seminar, although approximately every ten years saw a ‘step change’ in fees. ‘What we really need to start looking at is where the funding is coming from for the new things that need to happen. Now is the time, with construction and land costs relatively low – if you’re willing to stick it out, there will be opportunities.’