Future of three care homes for elderly under scrutiny in city

A report to senior councillors recommends public talks start in February on the future of another three care homes - Holme View in Holmewood, Neville Grange in Shipley and Harbourne in Wibsey.

If councillors decide to consult on the future of the homes the decision will come just months after Bradford Council backed plans to close another three homes in the city, last October.

Council bosses say the current buildings are not up to standard and future generations of older people will have different expectations.

The report, which looks at the next steps for the council’s review of residential and day care services will go before a meeting of the authority’s executive next month.

It will be debated on February 10 and outlines the current position of the service since three homes - Laurence House, Meadowcroft and Thackley Grange - closed in October last year.

It recommends consultation gets underway in February on the future of Holme View, Neville Grange and Harbourne. The council says none of the three meet required standards.

The authority has said it faces a difficult task of putting in place its long-term vision for older people at a time of decreasing resources.

Yesterday, Coun Amir Hussain, the council’s executive member for adult services, said: “This is part of a long-term strategy which began over three years ago.

“With a rising population of older people we need to make changes to ensure everyone can get the care or services they need at the same time as meeting the challenges of tighter finances.”

It has been previously estimated that essential works alone at the council’s care homes over the next five years would cost £5.2m.

Work started on a large-scale review of the council’s residential and day care services at the end of 2008. A number of issues were raised including: how service users entering residential care have complex needs and require a more specialist environment; how future service users and carers will have higher expectations for residential care, such as en suite facilities and how the condition of the council’s residential homes, all built between 1968 and 1989 with most not meeting current new-build standards.

A number of feasibility studies and consultations have taken place since then on how best to meet these challenges over the next ten years.

In December 2010, the executive agreed to pursue funding to build a small number of new high specification care homes. The council also hopes to build on what it says is the success of alternatives to residential homes, such as extra care housing, where people live independently in accommodation that has 24-hour care assistance on site when needed and support to enable people to stay in their own homes longer.

Moira Wilson, the council’s strategic director adult and community services, said yesterday: “We are acting now to ensure older people in future years have the highest possible standards of care, services to meet their individual needs and have a range of options on where they live.”

The authority’s decision to close Laurence House, Meadowcroft and Thackley Grange last year sparked opposition from families and resients who did not want to see the homes closed down. But a report said the buildings were not up to required standards and they were expensive to maintain.

Yesterday, the authority said service users at the three homes have since been found alternative accommodation.

Following the closures the local authority currently runs eight residential care homes in the district with a total of 261 beds. Each provides a range of long and short stay services. The homes also provide day care services for the elderly.

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