Searches carried out by care seekers on care directory company Autumna, show that catering, the range of activities, environmental commitments and even pet policies are scrutinised more often than the ratings awarded by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
“Our analysis of searches on our platform in 2024 confirms that CQC ratings aren’t relevant to those looking for care – they are too out of date and do not provide information on the criteria that matter to families.”
Last year, the most popular care home information sought out was fees, with nearly one in five users (18.2%) checking the fees of care homes that met their search criteria. The next most significant information looked for were rooms, checked out by one in ten care seekers (10.2%), followed by admission criteria (9.2%).
However, only 3.3% looked for more detailed information explaining the rating a care home had been awarded by the CQC.
By contrast, two and half times as many care seekers researched the dining choices (8.8%), while twice as many checked out the environmental commitments of care homes they were considering (7.2%). The choice of activities was also more important to self-funding families, with 5.75% investigating this.
With 3.6% of visitors checking out care homes’ pet policies, even the ability to take a furry or feathered friend proved to be more relevant for care seekers than the official ratings of the quality of care that they or their loved one could expect to receive.
“Fees are always the biggest concern for self-funding families looking for care, and they also want to know that they, or mum or dad, will feel at home,” comments Autumna’s Managing Director, Debbie Harris, “so it’s no surprise that fees and rooms were the most interrogated information on the Autumna website in 2024.”
“But the fact that only one in 30 people clicked to find out more details about the regulator ratings of the care homes they were looking at highlights just how irrelevant these are for people looking for care.”
“With inspections often woefully out of date – up to seven years in some cases – the CQC is failing to provide care seekers with information they can rely upon about the quality of care offered by providers. The regulator also doesn’t assess the things that matter most to families: detailed information on the type of care available, the quality of food, the range of activities, environmental policies – and whether pets are allowed. “
“While we welcome the admission by the CQC’s new chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley, that the regulator is not delivering, Autumna’s insights shows that it will never be able to provide all the information that care seekers need to help them choose care – and, crucially, that providers need to be able to evidence the quality of their care, facilities and service.”
“Our analysis shows that even if the CQC is able to turn itself around, the private sector will continue to have a vital role to play in ensuring care seekers can easily find information about the things that they or their loved ones need to feel truly at home in a care home.”
