Lack of care beds revealed

OLDHAM lies in the bottom half of a regional league table when it comes to the number of available care home beds, according to a major union.

With 1,613 beds available, Oldham comes 12th in the North-West league table of 22 councils, according to the figures by the GMB.

The statistics, which were released by GMP to underline their drive to make sure all care home beds are funded by the taxpayer, show Lancashire coming top, with 9,301 beds available and 89 per cent occupancy rates.

Oldham’s occupancy rate was 93 per cent.

Joe Harris, general secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC), which is collaborating with the GMB to secure policy changes for care homes, said: “Care in this country is still treated like a ‘Cinderella’ service, which has been under-funded and overlooked for years. The continued use of means-testing is simply intolerable.”