PONTYPRIDD needs more care homes like Cae Glas not less, says the daughter of a woman who was cared for there.
The home in Hawthorn is under threat of potential closure because Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council says it has not reached its full capacity for some time and is not financially sustainable.
But Catrin Collier, whose mum Gerda spent time there, said knowing her mother was safe and secure there, helped her and her father Glyn at the lowest point in their lives.
Catrin said: “There were times when felt totally alone and out of options when it came to caring for my parents.
“They had truly exceptional neighbours and I couldn’t have kept them in the home they loved in Glyncoch for as long as I did without their help, but when my father was hospitalised following a stroke and my mother had to be separated from him, she became disorientated, no longer knew me and even worse kept demanding why I was in her house.
“On our visits, it had been my father who would begin the conversation with ‘look the children have come to see us’. Without him, her world had disintegrated, and although she’d lived in her house for decades it had become a strange and alien place.
“My husband and I tried moving in with her, and discovered she no longer slept. Exhausted, I contacted her GP and was given an emergency appointment late at night.
“The young doctor saw my mother’s agitation and was sympathetic but told me there was nothing he could do as there were no psychiatric beds available.
“A few days later her psychiatric nurse (a brilliant and sympathetic nurse) found her a temporary place in Cae Glas.
“My mother was in Cae Glas for two weeks. Two weeks may not seem very long but it gave me the time I needed to visit my father in Llwynypia Hospital and warn him that my mother’s condition had deteriorated and discuss and plan my parents’ future with my father, and find a place for my mother in a nursing home.
“The single instance that stands out from those dreadful days when I lost my mother forever, is standing at midnight outside the doctor’s office with my mother not knowing how to calm her or who or where I could turn for help.
“I’m not decrying the young doctor’s offer of sympathy, it was worth a great deal at the time, but I can’t help wondering where desperate people will turn for help if Cae Glas is closed.
“Knowing that my mother was safe and secure there, helped my father and me at the lowest point in our lives. Pontypridd, with its ageing population needs more caring places like Cae Glas. Not less.”
Dewi Atkins, a staff member at the home, said he has been through a care home closure before in the private sector.
He said: “I have seen first hand what a closure does.
“They are not looking at the impacts on these residents. These people are at the end of their life.”
He said residents with dementia have become familiar with staff and raised concerns about what would happen if that was broken up.
Dewi said they are people who have paid into the system under the promise that when when they get older they will be looked after.
“Now they’re getting to the point when they need to use the service it is being pulled out from underneath them,” he added.
He said people don’t think about this until they need to use the service.
Dewi said: “The council are trying to say there’s no demand for dementia beds. It’s the complete opposite.”
He added: “Where are these people meant to go? Residents are scared. They are petrified.”
Dewi said residents are paying to be there and asked where this money is going, saying “it should be coming back into that care home”.
Councillor Cathy Lisles, who represents Hawthorn and Lower Rhydfelen on the council recently presented a petition with 4,000 signatures to full council from members of staff, as well as friends and family of residents of Cae Glas.
She said: “One of the things that struck me whilst I talked with members of the public as they signed was the wave of love and affection for Cae Glas.
“They all said what a lovely home Cae Glas was and what a shame it would be to see it go. If it were to close, there would only be one other RCT Home in the Taff Ely area, with only 10 beds allocated for dementia care.
“The options in the independent sector in the Taff Ely area are also severely limited. Councillors, this is what the families of the residents now living in Cae Glas are fearful of losing – the local home, that is accessible in their community.
“To quote just one comment made on the electronic version of the petition; ‘This is someone’s home, where that person lives, losing your home at any age is extremely difficult, but when you’re settled, made friends and feel safe it’s unimaginable.’”
A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: “We understand the concerns raised by Cae Glas Care Home residents, their families, and staff – and have been engaging very closely with them throughout the consultation. The process is shortly coming to an end after eight weeks, and the feedback received will help inform any future decision on these proposals.
“It is important to reiterate that no final decision has yet been made. We must continually review our care and support offer so it continues to meet older people’s needs, against a backdrop of changing expectations and significant financial challenges.
“Demand is moving away from traditional ‘care homes’ towards independent living at home with support and complex care, including dementia – and our programme to modernise adult care services reflects this.
“The council has delivered popular extra care housing in Aberaman and Graig, with a third scheme currently being built in Porth. Work has also recently started to build a modern specialist accommodation for people with learning disabilities in adulthood and older age, in Gelli.
“This is on top of an agreed investment to provide further extra care and residential dementia beds in Mountain Ash, a dedicated accommodation focusing on dementia care in Ferndale, and a new accommodation dedicated for people with learning disabilities in adulthood, in Church Village.
“A key consideration in relation to the proposal for Cae Glas Care Home is that it has not reached its full capacity for some time, and is not financially sustainable. Under the proposal, the home would only close once suitable accommodation is found for its residents in a home of their choice which meets their assessed needs.
“We are committed to ensuring that the health, wellbeing and quality of life of residents remain our priority during this process.”
