THE loss of two more care homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) would be “devastating” for residents, their families and staff, a councillor has said.
Councillor Cathy Lisles was commenting on proposals to close care homes in Ferndale and Hawthorn which will now go out to consultation after a committee voted not to refer the matter back to decision-makers.
Cllr Lisles was one of three councillors who had “called in” the proposals which are to close Ferndale House care home and Cae Glas care home and to create a new specialist dementia care facility in Ferndale.
But the overview and scrutiny committee voted not to refer them back to cabinet at a meeting on Friday, September 27.
The council said it is considering the move in response to falling demand for traditional ‘care homes’, with more than a third of available beds in the council’s care homes currently being vacant. The proposed changes could save the council around £2m a year.
Councillors Cathy Lisles (Independent) Paula Evans (Plaid Cymru) and Karl Johnson (Conservative) had signed the call-in.
They gave their reasons for the call as follows:
- The residential care homes for older people report discussed at the overview and scrutiny meeting on Wednesday and at cabinet on Thursday is seeking to develop more cost-effective care solutions which are sustainable for the future. The current report as presented fails to do that. Even once these changes were made, if they were to be made, there would still be a £7m deficit moving forward. Therefore, whilst there would be less of a deficit, this service would still be inefficient to a significant level.
- The current report as presented fails to discuss the external reasons for the deficits across all council-run care homes or discuss other ways to address it save closing care homes.
- The current report as presented is limited on the range of options suggested referring to the closure of just two care homes in the county.
- There is a lack of information as to how the current deficit figure has arisen for each care home.
- The consultation as currently envisaged would mean that the Taf area of the county is affected to a higher degree that other areas of RCT being reduced to just one care home with no current plans to build any new facilities as has occurred elsewhere.
- There is a need to further consider the detrimental impact of the decision on residents and their families.
- There is a need for a detailed evidence based report to be further considered by the cabinet.
The cabinet member for health and social care Gareth Caple said proposals to decommission traditional residential care homes are “difficult and sensitive evoking strong emotions amongst the public.”
He said: “No elected member wants to willingly decommission old people’s homes, however the decisions are taken in the context of a continuing decline in demand for general residential care over the last 10 years resulting in low occupancy and continued surplus of beds.”
He also said the decisions are taken against the background of severe financial constraint not of their making.
Councillor Cathy Lisles said: “In recent years we’ve seen two care homes close in Rhondda Cynon Taf, the loss of two more will be devastating for residents, the families and also the staff who work so hard to ensure the patients in their care feel safe and secure.
“Time is not on the side of these elderly residents so to move them further away from their families resulting in limited visiting times is heartless and cruel.
“Relatives have already suffered the heartbreak of having their family member diagnosed with dementia and now another blow is being dealt them.
“The stress of moving dementia patients has proved to be harmful and in some cases lethal.”
She also raised concerns about how the blanket restriction on admissions of new residents will affect those who are already on the waiting list for an RCT care home and the ability of the NHS to get through the winter.
“As elected members our responsibility is to care for those who elected us. By considering closing these care homes based on the current report we are not fulfilling our responsibilities.”
The council has said that residents are increasingly wanting to retain their independence in their own homes or within an independent living complex as they grow older and it has mentioned its commitment to invest in new and modern care accommodation in the Rhondda Fach, but recommends that this is focused on dementia care where there is an increasing need.
The council said work is already underway to prepare the Chubb factory site in Ferndale site for development.
The cabinet report from last week said that Ferndale House Care Home doesn’t meet modern standards required to provide continuing high-level and quality care accommodation.
It said it has had low resident numbers over a prolonged period and is therefore no longer financially sustainable.
It said that all residents would have the opportunity to move back to the brand-new care home in Ferndale when it opens.
The council also said that Cae Glas Care Home in Hawthorn has not reached its full capacity and is not operating in a financially sustainable way.