Caversham care home to close despite campaign

A care home for elderly people in Berkshire is to close, despite a campaign to save it. Reading Borough Council voted to shut the Arthur Clark home in Caversham, saying it needed £1.1m of works to bring it up to modern standards.
The authority said when it closed the residents would be moved to private sector accommodation.

Campaigner Sue McIntyre said the decision was “disgusting and disgraceful”.

Family members handed in a petition with 3,500 signatures before a full council debate in June.

The council’s adult social care, children’s services and education committee voted in favour of the closure on Monday evening.

‘Extremely stressful’

Plans, which include upgrading or shutting it, were the subject of a recent public consultation.

The council said the care home did not meet standards required by regulator the Care Quality Commission.

It does not have en-suite bathrooms, some bedrooms are small and some communal areas need “significant upgrading”.

Councillor Rachel Eden said closure was a “last resort” and residents would have to have moved out while work was carried out, regardless of what decision was made.

Relatives say the home’s elderly residents do not want to move.

Ms McIntyre, whose mother has been in the Arthur Clark home for 18 months, said moving would be “extremely stressful” for her.

“We’ve now got the trauma of finding her somewhere suitable,” she said.

It is proposed that the site will be used for extra care housing in the future.