THE councillor in charge of adult care in Redcar and Cleveland says more care homes may find themselves in dire financial straits having faced untold challenges over the past year because of covid-19.

Councillor Mary Ovens, cabinet member for adults, said the future of social care was uncertain and the Government desperately needed to bring forward long-promised reforms for the sector to make care for vulnerable people sustainable for the long term.

In an annual report for elected members on Redcar and Cleveland Council, Cllr Ovens referred to the closure of the Inglewood Care Home, in Redcar, last November, and suggested it may not be the last in the borough.

Its operator Crystal Care Services group said at the time it was financially unviable and a “further casualty” of the pandemic.

The 48-bed facility was rated ‘good’ by national inspectors, but despite this very low occupancy caused by a declining rate of admissions meant it was forced to close and its remaining residents moved elsewhere.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Ovens said: “We continue to see low occupancy in our care homes, particularly our older people’s residential care homes.

“Care home occupancy levels are at an average of 83 per cent in Redcar and Cleveland currently, and it cannot be ruled out that others may too experience issues with financial viability.

“It will be the public appetite for group living that will dictate whether care home occupancy does indeed increase to pre-pandemic levels. It is important that we work with care homes to ensure that we have an active care market after this crisis is over, one that can protect both its residents and care staff from the effects of any future outbreak.”

Redcar and Cleveland has 50 residential care homes, 30 for older people and 20 for people with disabilities and mental health needs, with Cllr Ovens describing the residential care market for operators as “difficult”.

She said the council had made under occupancy payments totalling over £280,000 to eight of its care homes to support their reduced occupancy levels and help put them on a more stable footing.

Meanwhile, Cllr Ovens said the social care workforce in the borough had risen to the challenges they faced over the last year and “literally put their lives on the line” in caring for people with coronavirus.

She said: “The covid-19 pandemic has catapulted adult social care into the biggest crisis seen for generations.

“It has shone an uncompromising light on the social care sector, its staff and the people of all ages who use its services.

“This has been an exhausting and unforgiving year for the social care workforce and they are undoubtedly the unsung heroes of this pandemic.”