So these ones went bust and 1000s havent. The positive is surely that fact alone. How many care home owners live in a two up two down. Not many if any. Taking dividends has undoubtedly taken profits or the slush fund. Go on companies house and check their accounts. I'm sure the evidence of the spending and wages will be there. Including dividends taken.

There is also a question of perception over lockdown - in London there have been, so far, 3825 deaths against 903 across Scotland. Obviously the population is much lower and I’m in no way trying to dismiss the loss but the stats aren’t as alarming when you’re dealing with 10 deaths a day as opposed to hundreds.

20 years ago I owned a 29 bed care home. So my knowledge is out of date but I don't think things have changed so much, and if anything for the worse.

I relied on a manager on all operational matters, including PPE, and she in turn relied on external advice whenever something out of the ordinary happened. I am certain we would now have been following government advice, and not taking independent decisions, as we didn't have the expertise to do so.

Most of the time it's a real struggle to recruit enough staff, especially reliable good ones. As a consequence you frequently have to rely on agencies who bleed you dry. On many occasions you have no choice other than to use them to ensure a safe, and legal, staffing level. Many residents are funded by their local authorities, who pay the rate they determine is correct, and not what you feel is appropriate. The gap between the two was large in my day and with austerity must now be bigger.

So the idea that a care home is a very profitable business is a myth. It can be very challenging. The people who bought my home to add to their group went bankrupt 3 years later.

The rewards in running a home are rarely financial. The reward comes from giving people a good place to live and enjoy their latter years. There is a lot of love in a care home. It was an experience I treasure and from which I learned a great deal.

I can only imagine what it must be like at the moment and my heart goes out to the residents, their families and the many devoted, hard working and loving staff who give so much of themselves to make people's lives better.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Most are run by charitable trusts, many set up generations ago by e.g. Churches. Some are run as small businesses by entrepreneurs, often originally doctors. The biggest issue is that Local Authorities can't afford to pay the break-even rate, which in most cases is in the region of £1,000 within London. So private payers have to subsidise. Then we had the increase in minimum wages without any equivalent increases in Local Authority funds. For many that was game over.

In fact it's possible they will all fill up, as the NHS tries to shift people that are bed-blocking. This is a problem that should have been addressed before now but is wrapped up in the complexity of when Local Authorities and when CCGs pay. And the lack of funding for both.

Into care homes with the virus circulating in them and between nearby care homes via agency staff. Going to be a long ordeal in care homes.

COYP