THE organisation representing care homes across England has criticised Oxfordshire health commissioners for failing to provide adequate funding for adult social care.

Care England says Oxford is among a number of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) that are not covering the increased costs of looking after vulnerable people in care homes.

Oxfordshire CCG bosses have said a decision on funding is still under review.

Under Government rules, the NHS is responsible for arranging and funding care for individuals who are not in hospital but have been assessed as having a primary health need via NHS Continuing Health Care (CHC).

However, according to data received by Care England, Oxfordshire CCG is one of a number of commissioning groups which have not increased CHC funding for 2018/19.

Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green OBE said: “This decision by Oxfordshire CCG makes absolutely no sense at all.

“Zero per cent fee decisions result in vulnerable people at risk of ending up in hospital and not in care settings within their communities.

“This is exactly what the NHS is trying to avoid.

“Once again we call for a long-term holistic plan by looking at the bigger picture.”

Prof Green said the lack of funding added further pressures to an already fragile sector, with nursing homes closing at an increasing rate piling even more pressures upon an over-stretched NHS.

Care homes have seen rising costs including national minimum wage rates and nurse pay, all of which are essential to ensure that the best calibre staff are recruited and trained.

Last week Theresa May warned social care leaders that there would be no large central spending increase to tackle the care crisis until 2020 at the earliest.

Prof Green added: “Providers want to work with CCGs to find the best solution.

“There are of course pockets of excellent practice and there need to be the mechanisms in place to replicate these throughout the country but this calls for providers, CCGs and commissioners to work together.”

A spokesman for Oxfordshire CCG said: “OCCG has not made a decision to freeze fee increases for continuing healthcare packages in 2018/19.

“A number of providers have proposed an uplift for 2018-19 and these cases are currently under review.”

The CCG says that since 2017/18 the amount spent on continuing healthcare in Oxfordshire care homes has increased by £2m to meet inflation and predicted growth in the continuing health needs of Oxfordshire’s population.