CARE homes and care services in rural areas may struggle to survive if a funding gap is not plugged, the Rural Services Network (RSN) has warned.

The RSN, which represents local authorities and councils in rural areas, says that £7less public funding per head is directed towards rural residents than in urban areas, despite the higher cost of providing social care services in more remote towns and villages.

It has also cited difficulty in obtaining PPE and the long distances to Covid-19 testing sites as obstacles facing care staff and providers in rural areas.

A spokesperson said: “Nearly a quarter of England’s rural population is aged 65 or over, with this group particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and even in normal times they are in higher demand of social care services.

“Yet our consultation, which examined the experiences of local authority officers or elected members in 20 predominantly rural councils across England, identified critical challenges in delivering social care services during the pandemic. Four in five rural social care workers lack adequate access to COVID-19 testing.”

The RSN says the results of its consultation make clear that if the Government does not plug the growing hole in social care budgets, care homes or related services in rural areas may struggle to survive.

“Nearly half of those consulted (46%) anticipate seeing residential care homes in rural areas closing over the next year on current funding levels. A quarter also said they anticipate seeing the reduction of social care services for those living in their own homes in rural areas.”

Graham Biggs, Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, said: “The findings of this survey are very worrying. Government, as a matter of extreme urgency, should complete its Fair Funding Review and implement it for 2021/22. This is essential to help level-up the provision of social care services in rural areas, taking full account of their delivery cost in more sparsely populated areas.”

The Government has recently announced that its Infection Control Fund will be extended to March 2021 and an extra £546 million will be made available to care providers as a whole.