Failing facilities to blame for trio of care home closures
Wiltshire Council insists it will do everything possible to accommodate affected residents
Wiltshire Council is blaming leaky roofs, failing boilers and insufficient facilities for the closure of three council-owned care homes.
Buckland Court, Amesbury, Seymour House, Chippenham and Hungerford House, Corsham are to shut as they no longer meet the required standard for care that the local authority demands.
Council Leader, Ian Thorn, said the move is necessary for the benefit of those living at the three locations.
"I completely understand this is not an easy time for residents or their families," he said. "These buildings are over 50 years old. We have leaky roofs, we have boilers that keep breaking down. We have situations where there's one loo for six people."
Cllr Thorn described these issues as "wholly unacceptable".
He added that the cost of redeveloping the sites would be "extensive" and that "we absolutely have to close them and move the residents out".
The Council Leader told us that even if the council chose to redevelop the homes, the residents would need to move out anyway, and attempting to return them would be even more unsettling.
Council ready to "bend over backwards"
Cllr Thorn insisted that the authority will work alongside families and affected residents to ensure the transition to a new home is as smooth as possible.
He said the council is working closely with The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) to manage the transition and are already in touch with families.
The Council Leader said: "We are working really, really hard to recognise the sensitivity of this, to try and ensure that residents move to a location that they really want to move to and if they've got friends in one of the homes that they're moving with their friends as well.
"If we can maintain those friendships following the move, we're really keen to do that. So we're keen to bend over backwards to do everything we can in difficult circumstances, which I fully understand to make the process as painless as it possibly can be."
Affected residents are to be moved to new homes within their communities but there is ambition in the local authority to boost services across the county.
"We live in a world where we're all getting older, which is a great thing, but we have increasingly complex needs, which requires new types of facilities. And these are things that over time we'll be providing in other parts of the county," Cllr Thorn said.
He said the council is working on procuring a "very large site" in central Wiltshire to provide support for people with significant complex needs.
Opportunities for affected staff
The impact of the closure isn't limited to the people living at the three care homes, with the possibility of staff losing jobs too.
Those working at the homes are employed by an outside provider, but Cllr Thorn said there are opportunities for employees to remain in Wiltshire, should they wish to do so.
"I've been very clear that if a member of staff wants to come and work with Wiltshire Council, we have lots of opportunities. I never make guarantees that I can't keep, but I'm pretty confident that if anybody wants a job working with Wiltshire, we'll bend over backwards to make that happen," he said.
"The staff go there to pay their bills, they will be concerned and we'll do everything we can to ensure that there are opportunities."