New research has revealed the care home market for older people in England shrank for the first time in three years in 2022.

The study by CSI Market Intelligence, Say Hello Wave Goodbye 2022, reveals 123 care homes opened in 2022 against 247 closures, with a net loss of 230 beds.

Despite two care homes closing for every one that opened, the overall loss of beds was minimised by the fact that new homes were larger than those leaving the market.  

Care home openings in 2022 were the lowest since 2015 and were 23% down on openings in 2021.

The openings equate to around only 1.3% market increase, against a 2.6% decrease through closures. This is much in line with the average number of care home openings and closures since 2015, when CSI Market Intelligence began their reporting.

On a regional basis there were only two regions that gained beds across the year, London and the West Midlands, while the largest number of losses were in the Southeast, Southwest and Northwest.

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, told Caring Times: “It is worrying to see that the care home market is shrinking at a time when demographic show increasing need. It is also important to recognise the role of residential care plays in enabling people to leave hospital. If the government continues to ignore the need for a long term funding settlement for social care, We will  have a situation where there is not nearly enough care for those in need.”