Care home faces closure

8:43am Wednesday 6th June 2007

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MORE than 40 staff and 13 elderly people face an uncertain future following the release of a report that proposes closing Ashton-on-Mersey's Atkinson Court residential care home.

Trafford executive approved recommendations to reduce the number of in-house residential care beds by 40 at a special meeting this week.

Now a two-week consultation exercise with residents, their relatives and staff will take place before a final decision is made later this month.

The announcement continues a massive overhaul of adult social services and, if approved, would mean the borough has just four council run care homes in Altrincham, Sale, Old Trafford and Urmston.

Oaklands Court, in Hale Barns, closed it doors in July last year following a five-week consultation with residents at the 44-bed facility that also acted as a respite unit for about 70 Trafford residents.

While in the last year Altrincham's Pownall Road and Sale's Northlea day care centre have also closed. Decisions on the future use of the land at these three sites are still to be confirmed by the council.

The policy continues a shift to supporting more elderly people in their own homes said executive member for adult social care, Councillor John Lamb.

"During the past ten years there has been a growing expectation that Social Services will provide real alternatives to residential care for older people.

"This has led to a huge expansion nationally of home care services and a resulting reduction in residential care placements."

He added: "There will be some savings if this proposal is approved but that's not the only factor in this decision. The council agreed to a £3.9 million increase in spending at the last budget.

"The amount of social care investment is increasing, but we are spending it in a different way. It's about encouraging independent living and supporting people in their homes.

"Investment in homecare has enabled the numbers of people being intensively supported at home to substantially increase from 344 in 2004 to 461 in the last year."

Trafford's ageing population: *44,000 residents are aged 60 or over and 3,776 are supported by social services.

*Government statistics predict that in the next 50 years the number of people aged over 85 will quadruple.

Trafford's bed surplus: *Trafford council has 193 residential care beds and 32 vacancies.

*30 care homes in the borough's private sector provide 530 beds. At the start of May they had 24 vacancies.

The cost of residential care: *The council estimates an in-house bed costs £513 per week compared to £368 if it's provided by the private sector.

*623 people supported by Trafford council live in private residential care homes