West Dunbartonshire care home move criticised

Calls have been made to provide small personalised care homes for elderly residents in Dumbarton and the Vale just days after the council agreed a £20million merger of all residential facilities.

Councillor Jim Bollan said West Dunbartonshire Council’s approval of a plan to close all council homes and replace them with two ‘super homes’ will “institutionalise” the service.

Last week, members of the Community Health and Care Partnership (CHCP) agreed to merge Dumbarton’s Langcraigs, Dalreoch, Willox Park and Old Kilpatrick’s Mount Pleasant residential home, as well as two in Clydebank, into two 90-bed facilities — costing £20million.

The move was in response to recent home inspection reports which show the size, layout and current facilities restrict the care the council can offer. But the socialist councillor said big is not beautiful in this case, adding: “The plans as agreed will result in job losses and a reduction in care for elderly residents. To condense six homes into two large centralised care facilities will institutionalise the service which is a huge step backwards. We need small local homely units which are much more personal and conducive to providing a quality environment and care. The Labour council’s decision is taking us back to the days when the private sector were accused of building large “granny farms” to provide care for our elderly in.”

A spokeswoman for the council said there will be no “significant” reductions in staff or compulsory redundancies.

Charlie McDonald, of Unite, said the union welcomed any modernisation of elderly care homes but will be monitoring the situation closely.

Councillor Gail Casey, convener of West Dunbartonshire’s CHCP, said: “Some of our care homes were built in 1960 and are struggling to provide the first-class levels of care we aim to deliver. Our elderly residents deserve to be looked after in 21st century care homes and our staff deserve to work in premises that enable them to provide the best care possible. This decision to build new facilities — with council-employed care staff — will ensure that we can and will do that in the years to come.”

The facilities are expected to be ready by 2015.

Councillor Jonathan McColl, shadow social work and health spokesperson, added: “I am delighted that we have cross party support for a solution that keeps social care a social service. Every councillor in West Dunbartonshire agrees that wholesale privatisation of such services is wrong and keeping it in-house allows us to ensure that our elderly residents get the best quality of care.”