Verdict due soon on care home closure plans

Derbyshire County Council is soon to consider closing and selling nine care homes and closing some day centres for the elderly after studying the public reaction from over 1.700 respondents in a consultation to their plans.

The Conservative-controlled council has stated it is addressing overall saving plans affecting services to meet an estimated budget deficit of over £39m for the 2024/25 financial year after it stressed it has struggled with reduced Government funding, the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, high inflation, rising costs, the cost of living crisis, and a growing demand on services.

It has also added that Cabinet members will make their decisions at a meeting on November 14 against the backdrop of financial pressures faced by the authority which is one of the largest local authority providers of residential care in the country with budget pressures including an increased demand for adult and children’s social care and higher prices for fuel, energy and materials.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Cllr Natalie Hoy, said: “All the research shows that people want to remain in their own homes for as long as possible which has led to a decline in demand for traditional residential care.

“There’s also a growing number of people living with dementia, often supported by family carers or friends who work hard to look after them.

“Carers have told us they need consistent and regular support so we need to focus our resources on having the right options to support them. This includes long-term specialist dementia care coupled with respite day and night breaks.

“By refocusing our services, to create wraparound care for those with dementia and their carers, we can help even more Derbyshire residents live the life they want, in their communities, in familiar places among family and friends.”

In original plans one proposed option included 11 care homes earmarked for possible closure including Whitestones, at Chapel-en-le-Frith.

The council is now proposing to cease to operate and offer for sale nine care homes including: Briar Close, Borrowash; Castle Court, The Grange, Eckington; Lacemaker Court, Long Eaton; The Leys; Ashbourne; New Bassett House, Shirebrook;  Rowthorne, Swanwick;  and Thomas Colledge, Bolsover.

It is also proposing that Bennerley, at Ilkeston, would no longer operate as a residential care home and would be repurposed to be used exclusively for community support beds for short-term reablement and assessment in what the council claims will support the flow through the care system and help more people to live at home for longer.

The council has also now stated that of its remaining residential care homes, it is proposing to further publicly consult on proposed changes that, if implemented, would enable a move towards a single operating model of care.

This will involve considering two options for the future use of the remaining residential care homes.

Option 1 includes four homes operating as specialist dementia care homes including Florence Shipley, Whitestones, Matlock’s Meadow View, and Swadlincotes’ Oaklands, with all except Whitestones having an integrated day centre.

Option 2 includes two homes operating as specialist dementia care homes including Florence Shipley and Whitestones with Meadow View and Oaklands adopting a mixed care model.

Under both options, Ada Belfield, in Belper, Staveley Centre, Staveley, and Thomas Fields, at Buxton, would cease to operate long-term residential and overnight respite care, with Staveley and Thomas Fields being potentially repurposed, alongside Bennerley for hospital discharge beds only, to support the health and care system.

Cabinet will be told that often people stay in hospital longer than is ideal and that the new model of care aims to involve closer integration with health partners to create a more effective and efficient assessment and rehabilitation service.

Currently, the council has 78 community support beds – beds jointly operated with health – in five county council-run care homes that also have long-term residents.

Community support beds support discharge from hospital by giving people a short period of rehabilitation before returning home. They’re also used to help avoid hospital admission, supporting Derbyshire residents to recover, rehabilitate and return home.

As part of the service redesign, Cabinet will be asked to agree to consult on proposals that could give the council the option to move to a single model of care offering community support beds only in some settings, to help to improve flow through the health and care system and support people to stay at home.

Other settings would be dedicated exclusively to specialist long-term residential, overnight respite care and day opportunities for people with dementia, according to the council.

In original plans eight day centres faced possible closures including: Blackwell Day Centre, Blackwell; Eccles Fold Day Centre, Chapel-en-le-Frith; Fabrick Day Services, Hilton; Hasland Resource Centre, at Hasland, Chesterfield; Jubilee Centre, New Mills; Queens Court, Buxton; Shirebrook Resource Centre; And Valley View Day Centre, Bolsover.

However, following the public consultation, the council has stated that in its latest proposals three day centres in the community would remain open including: Eccles Fold, at Chapel en-le-Frith; Hasland, in Chesterfield; and Shirevale, in Shirebrook.

The council claims the proposals outlined in a report due to be discussed by the council’s Cabinet on November 14 support the council’s intention to create a sustainable service focusing on specialist services for people with dementia and their carers, offering long-term residential care and flexible day and overnight breaks to support carers.

It also claims the proposals will allow for greater integration with health partners to provide short-term reablement and assessment services to support timely discharge from hospital, prevent unplanned hospital admissions and reduce the risk of readmission, thereby helping people stay at home for as long as they can.

The council has stated that moving from mixed model care homes, where both long-term and short-term residents are cared for, to single model care homes, focusing on either providing support to people with dementia and their carers or on providing short-term reablement and assessment care will create a more effective and efficient service.

It also claims there is an increasing need for specialist services for the growing number of older people in Derbyshire with dementia and their carers.  

Cllr Hoy added: “Supporting the health and care system through closer working with health partners is vital if we’re to help even more people remain at home.  

“Community support beds – usually known as hospital discharge beds – are a vital part of ensuring people don’t stay in hospital longer than they need to or are admitted when a short period of rest and rehabilitation in a community support bed would help them to stay at home for longer.  

“There are also benefits to single-model care services, both in terms of staffing and increased effectiveness.  

“By creating a new model of in-house care we can create a sustainable service helping people who need us most.”  

UNISON campaigners are calling for the council to abandon adult social care saving plans and eight Derbyshire Labour MPs have also met with Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, to express their concerns about the proposals to close care homes and elderly day centres.  

During considerations, the council has already rejected a call from opposition Labour Group councillors to further investigate subsequent long-term care costs before deciding on the proposed closures.