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Council Approves Home Closures And Agrees Plans For Future Care

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2015

Proposals aimed at securing the future of the majority of Derbyshire County Council residential homes while closing four homes and a respite care unit with six short-stay beds have been approved.

The county council’s Cabinet agreed the proposals at its meeting today (Tues 24 Nov).

The proposals are part of the council’s wider five-year plan which aims to keep 18 county council-run residential care homes open – one in each Derbyshire district – and continue to invest in residential care, extra care and specialist care for older people.

At its meeting Cabinet agreed to the closure of the following homes and short-term beds:

• The Willows, Field Terrace, Ripley
• The Glebe, Church Street, Alfreton
• Red House, Sheffield Road, Stonegravels, Chesterfield
• Hillcrest, Kenilworth Drive, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston
• Ecclesfold Resource Centre, six short-term respite care beds (excluding the day service), Manchester Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith.

Residents, their families and staff were due to be told of the decision at meetings held at the homes following today’s meeting.
Now the decisions have been taken to close the homes and short-stay beds all 78 residents and their families will be allocated a dedicated member of staff who will work closely with them at their own pace to help them choose a suitable new place to live which will meet their needs.

A set of 11 pledges drawn up by the council will also be given to residents and their families, which include treating residents with dignity and respect, consulting closely with them every step of the way, discussing their preferences, care and support needs and addressing any concerns about moving.

Residents will also have a full assessment carried out so it will be easier for them and their families to identify suitable new places to live that can meet their needs.

It can take around six to nine months to close a home, but the council is not setting a fixed timetable and all moves will be planned around individual residents and their families.

Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Councillor Paul Smith said: “In 2012 the council was considering closing the majority of its residential care homes and keeping only four open but we wanted to turn this around and secure the future of as many of our residential homes as possible.

“This decision will see us being able to keep 18 homes open as well as being able to continue investing in the long-term future of county council accommodation and care services for older people, including extra care housing and specialist residential care centres.

“We know this has been an anxious time for residents at these homes and for their relatives and I can assure them we have taken all their views into account before making these difficult decisions.
“We explored every aspect of every home before reaching this decision and believe this has been done fairly and is based on solid and in-depth information.”

Councillor Smith added: “Now the decision has been made, I want to reassure residents and their families that we will be there every step of the way to support them to find suitable new homes.

“We will ensure that all moves are well-planned and done at the pace of and tailored to meet the needs of each resident, to limit the impact of the change.

“We have a set of pledges that we will follow and will offer support throughout the process which will continue after they have moved to their new homes.”

The county council has been planning to change the way it delivers accommodation, care and support for older people since 2012 when a strategy was unveiled to close up to 20 of its residential care homes and replace them with extra care apartments. This would have left only four council-run homes open across the county.

That plan was paused in 2013 and the council launched a review into how it was providing accommodation, care and support to older people and how it wanted to in the future, with a view to keeping more of its care homes open.

The review included an in-depth assessment of all its residential care homes, resource centres and specialist care centres for older people.

The information gathered was provided as part of a 13-week consultation launched in June in to the plans.

During the consultation residents at the homes, their families, staff, local people and other groups and organisations were encouraged to give their views.

Councillor Paul Smith and his deputies Councillor Rob Davison and Councillor Paul Jones visited the four homes and the resource centre to see for themselves what the issues were and talk to residents and staff.

Views gathered during the consultation were detailed in the report which was considered by Cabinet before it made its decision today, along with a detailed Equality Impact Analysis, looking at how the home closures could affect residents and the local community.

The council will decide what happens to the buildings and land at a later date, although any money raised from any sales would be reinvested in council residential care buildings.

Consultations will start shortly with staff working at the homes to seek to identify possible alternative posts in other council care services.





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