As former Eden Council areas continues to see an above average increase in retirement age population council owned care home provision faces more cuts following the trend set with the closure and demolition of Greengarth in Penrith, An Alston care home and one in Windermere which the council have deemed to be in ‘functionally obsolete’ buildings could be closed by Westmorland and Furness council following a consultation the councils leadership will be asked to consider in Private at a meeting at Redhills on Tuesday.
Grisedale Croft in Alston and Applethwaite Green in Windermere could be axed by Westmorland and Furness Council due to out-of-date building and could see the same fate as the former greengarth care home in Penrith closed and erased from the site by the Council.
The 13-bed care home was awarded a ‘good’ rating in its most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report in 2020.
But the council says that it is operating at a reduced capacity of residents due to ‘longstanding recruitment challenges, high agency reliance and an inability to meet modern regulatory standards’.
Although the council reports regarding consultation are been withheld from public on the cabinet meeting agenda the council have placed a report buried on its website for one of the two properties facing the axe that says: “The building is functionally obsolete, with bedrooms below the required minimum size and no scope to provide en-suite or dementia friendly facilities without significant investment.
“The home has some of the highest costs across all Care Services homes – including one of the highest costs per resident, the highest agency cost per occupied bed, and the second highest forecast cost per available bed – making it financially unsustainable.”
It adds that there is a ‘strong local alternative provision’ available including 12 other residential homes rated ‘good’ by the CQC as well as adjacent extra care housing.
The report concludes that, balancing with the council’s strategic direction to ensure independence and value for money, the evidence supports a formal consultation on the future of the home including the option of closure.
The information does not set out what other measures could be brought in.
The CQC report of 2020 not only gave the care home a ‘good’ overall rating but also gave the same evaluation for all five sub-categories, those being: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
Westmorland and Furness councillors will discuss what will happen to the two care home at its cabinet meeting at the Redhills council offices on Tuesday, April 21 at 10am.
Increases contribution by Zach Harrison (Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
