DUMFRIES and Galloway has seen a significant decrease in care home capacity in the last ten years.
The number of care homes in the region has decreased from 45 in 2012 to 31 in 2022, while the number of registered care home places has fallen from 1288 to 1062.
This reduction in care home provision is similar to the rest of Scotland, which has seen a 20 per cent decrease over the same period, but the overall trend in Dumfries and Galloway has been one of consolidation – with fewer, larger care homes.
The issue will be a ‘key consideration’ in the forthcoming NHS engagement programme Right Care, Right Place: Intermediate Care, which will take place across the region.
Strategic planning director David Rowland said: “The challenges faced by Dumfries and Galloway around care home capacity are real, and we must work together to find innovative solutions to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need, when they need it, and in the place that is right for them.
“Our Right Care, Right Place engagement programme provides lots of information to consider, including the fact that we have an increasingly older population and a shrinking working age population – and what that means for care home provision as well as Intermediate Care as a whole.
“We are committed to working with our partners, including local communities, to co-develop a new model for Intermediate Care that takes into account the unique needs and circumstances of our region.”
The health team will also be engaging with care home owners to develop local capacity in line with need, and to ensure care home models of the future reflect what communities want.
Mr Rowland added: “We believe that by taking a person-centred approach, we can create a model that truly puts the needs of people first and ensures that they receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”
Right Care, Right Place engagement began late last week, and will run until March with drop in sessions and virtual events.
To find out more and fill in a survey with your views, go to www.dghscp.co.uk/rightcarerightplace
