Several towns in East Devon rely on care homes for many jobs. Most advertisements in local newspapers are for jobs in the sector. The increase in minimum wage and lower social care fees will cause many care homes to close. The closure of more community hospital beds will exacerbate the problem. Councils facing budget cuts of 40% cannot pick up any slack.

“The NHS could be forced to find room for 37,000 elderly and disabled nursing home residents by the end of the decade as the cash-starved care industry teeters on the brink of collapse, a new report warns.
A study of funding by the think-tank ResPublica concluded that a feared wave of care home closures and cutbacks could leave the NHS forced to pick up a bill of £3 billion a year.

The health budget has been given special protection from austerity cuts for the last five years but councils, which have a legal duty to provide social care, have seen their incomes slashed by 40 per cent. …”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/elder/11987364/NHS-facing-37000-strong-influx-of-elderly-as-care-homes-close.html