THE Island’s residential, nursing and home care services are no longer the worst in the country — but they remain in the bottom five.


Last year, the Island was ranked 47th out of 47 counties for the quality of its care services, based on inspections carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog, but, this year, it climbed to 43rd — still the fifth worst but no longer bottom of the table.

The CQC has inspected 99 of the Island’s 117 care services, rating 73.7 per cent as good or outstanding and 26.3 per cent as requiring improvement or inadequate.

Herefordshire (where 92.1 per cent of services were good) and West Yorkshire (66.1 per cent) were the best and worst counties, respectively. 

Nursing homes on the Island were found to be much better than care homes and comparatively less expensive.

While nursing homes were the fourth best in the country, they were only the 19th most expensive at £941.55 per week — significantly cheaper than the most expensive nursing homes in the country at £1,200 per week.

Care homes, however, were the fifth worst in the country but the 20th most costly at £682.70 per week.

The cost of care on the Island has leapt from £777.10 (nursing homes) and £525.40 (care homes) last year.

Earlier this year, when the Isle of Wight Council approved a 4.86 per cent increase in fees for nursing homes, significantly more than the national average of 2.5 per cent, the care sector was branded a 'cartel’ by Labour Cllr Geoff Lumley.

But Cllr Steve Stubbings, the executive member for adult social care, said providers were not 'rich sharks’ and costs were higher on the Island than the mainland. 

As reported, he warned the Island’s nursing sector was at breaking point and the closure of only one would result in elderly people being sent to homes on the mainland.

Nationally, the quality of residential, nursing and homes care slumped by almost ten per cent while care home prices increased by nearly a quarter — 23 per cent — compared with last year.

The quality and cost tables have been compiled by Trusted Care, an online care directory, and can be viewed at www.trustedcare.co.uk/care-map

Reporter: emilyp@iwcpmail.co.uk