THE FUTURE of two council run care homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) is set to be decided.
On Wednesday, January 22, cabinet is due to make a decision on whether to go ahead with plans to close Ferndale House in Ferndale and Cae Glas in Hawthorn.
RCT reviewed its residential care home provision in August, 2024, and the review found there was a “continued oversupply” of residential care home beds and that in light of the proposed extra care developments there was sufficient residential care provision to meet current and future demand.
Whilst the population analysis forecasts an increase in dementia amongst the population as it ages, the current provision that includes additional dementia capacity at Tegfan and Parc Newydd alongside the development of a purpose-built facility in Ferndale is considered to be sufficient for current and anticipated future demand, the cabinet report said.
The report said that over recent years, analysis had shown that the number of residents in a care home at the end of each financial year had fallen in Rhondda Cynon Taf despite an expanding older population.
Between 2016/17 to 2023/24, care home placements reduced by 8% overall.
Over the same period, there had also been a change of care category for residents, between general residential and residential dementia.
In terms of bed vacancies, there were 127 in RCT care homes as at December 9 with 42 in residential, 55 in residential dementia, 27 in nursing and three in nursing dementia.
In Ferndale House there were seven residential and seven residential dementia bed vacancies and in Cae Glas there were 26 residential dementia bed vacancies.
If the proposals go ahead, the number of residential bed vacancies will be 35, for residential dementia it will be 22, for nursing it will be 27 and for nursing dementia it will be three meaning a total of 87.
The report said that in 2023/24, the council’s residential care home service significantly overspent, attributable mainly to “under achievement of income” due to low occupancy levels, with this position continuing into the current financial year (2024/25).
It said the unit cost was significantly higher for Ferndale House and Cae Glas compared to the other council care homes and was significantly higher than the weekly fee paid to the independent sector in 2023/24 of £772 and £818 for residential and residential dementia care home placements respectively.
The proposals, if agreed, could save the council £2m in a full year.
The public consultation on the proposals took place between October 1 and November 30.
Most of the respondents disagreed with the proposal to close Ferndale House with 93.4% disagreeing and of those 89.4% strongly disagreeing.
Most of the respondents also disagreed that the consultation booklet made it clear why decommissioning for either care home was being considered.
The main messages from older people and their families at Ferndale House related to distress at the possible impact on the health and wellbeing of their family member, concern with regards to the accessibility of alternative placements for families of the same quality and cost and anger and frustration that previous commitments made for Ferndale House were not to be honoured.
In response the council said that: “Whilst it is acknowledged that the majority of respondents to the consultation are not in favour of Ferndale house decommissioning in advance of the opening of the new care home being developed on the former Chubb Factory site, the council has to balance these views with other competing factors highlighted in this report in order to make sure the council invests its resources in the right way so that all residents of Rhondda Cynon Taf can get the right level of care to meet their needs now and in the future.”
Most of the respondents disagreed with the proposal to permanently close Cae Glas care home with 89% disagreeing and of those 85.3% strongly disagreeing.
Most of the respondents also disagreed that the consultation booklet made it clear why decommissioning for either care home was being considered.
The main messages from older people and their families at Cae Glas included concern regarding the impact of a move on the health and wellbeing of their family member, concern with regards to the accessibility of alternative placements for families of the same quality and cost and anger and frustration that the rationale for closure does not feel justified.
Again the council said it had to balance these views with other competing factors highlighted in this report in order to make sure the council invested its resources in the right way so that all residents of Rhondda Cynon Taf could get the right level of care to meet their needs now and in the future.
The report said that these homes would be closed once suitable alternative accommodation was found for current residents in a home of their choice which met their assessed needs and that all current residents of Ferndale House would have the option to move to the new care home when it opened subject to their wishes and assessed need at that point.
But it also said that during the consultation, staff at both Ferndale House and Caeglas expressed their concerns about job losses and their anxieties about job security.
The report added that it must be acknowledged that the staff affected were well trained and experienced in the care of older people with dementia and that their expertise would be a significant loss to the social care sector if they were lost.
The report concluded: “It is important that the council reviews its adult social care provision to ensure its current care and support offer continues to meet assessed need in order to ensure ongoing operational and financial challenges are addressed.
“The extensive consultation exercise undertaken by the council has demonstrated the strength of feeling from a range of people.
“The council’s residential care homes are clearly highly significant for the people who live in them. The key message from older people and their families and staff is that they oppose the proposed decommissioning of Ferndale House and Caeglas and both should remain open as previously agreed by cabinet in February, 2023.
“It has been possible to respond to the concerns raised during the consultation and put forward appropriate mitigation, where possible.”
It added that officers considered that the recommendations to close the care homes would “ensure that the council maintains a sustainable care home market that provides sufficient residential and residential dementia care home capacity across the County Borough that is required to meet the current needs of older people and supports efficient service delivery and best use of resources to contribute to the council’s challenging budget strategy and medium term financial plan.
“Furthermore, the council would continue to be able to fulfil its statutory duties should cabinet determine to progress with the decommissioning of Ferndale House and Caeglas.”
A special overview and scrutiny committee meeting will also be discussing the proposals on Tuesday, January 21.
