New government figures show the closure of care homes for the elderly is accelerating.
The decline in nursing home beds has reached almost 22,000 since 1998 with 6% of places closing in London and the South East last year alone. The North West lost more than 5% of its beds last year and Trent saw an 8% decline against he 4.5% national figure.
The Liberal Democrats says the closure of care homes is turning from crisis to meltdown
Financial Times 22/03/02 page 6
The Daily Telegraph 22/03/02 page 11
