Carmarthen care home shut down by court
A CARE home near Carmarthen has been forced to close after a court ruled its residents could be at risk.
Elderly and vulnerable people at Hafan Tywi, in Ferryside, were still looking for new homes as the Journal went to press last night.
The order to close the home was brought by Welsh ministers after an application by the CSSIW care inspectorate. This was granted by Carmarthen magistrates on Thursday.
A court spokeswoman said the order was “on behalf of Welsh ministers, and appealing to the justice of the peace, that there will be a serious risk of a person’s life, health or well-being unless the order is made”. She added: “The case ordered that the registration of the care home Hafan Tywi is cancelled.”
Vulnerable
The CSSIW called the closure “urgent”, adding: “This is a very rare action and one not considered lightly given the impact on service users and the livelihood of staff and owners.”
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “This is a very rare procedure, and is only the second time in the ten-year history of CSSIW this action has been carried out. It is only done when considered absolutely necessary to safeguard the health and well-being of vulnerable service users.”
Staff said they had not been fully paid and that they were working for free in a desperate attempt to re-home residents.
One carer, who asked not to be named, said: “We are all gutted, and the residents have been going out of the door in tears — they are devastated.”
The home’s owner, Joy Loate, said she had done everything social services asked, ploughing some £200,000 of her own money into improvements. She said the closure came because she did not have a full-time manager at the site.
“The inspectorate said they wanted this and this changing and I did it all with my own money,” she said.
“The hours I owe the staff, I am going to put the building up for auction and then I will pay them. I can’t pay them now because everything is so bitter.
“I am not a bad person — I want to put everything up for auction and run away from this place because they have made me into a monster which I am not.”
Staff said they still needed to re-home eight of the home’s 13 residents.
Chris Howard, whose mother has been at the home for six-and-a-half years, said he was given five days to re-home her.
“It’s not just me, there are plenty of other residents and other families,” he said. “I felt absolutely devastated.”
Carmarthenshire Council said it had tried to get the home out of difficulties and was now helping with re-homing.
