08:08 Friday 13th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: One story has dominated the Peterborough Breakfast Show this week, and the news agenda right across the city. And the team here behind the Show have really brought this to the fore this week. It’s the decision by the Council to consult on whether to close two of its care homes, which has caused a massive reaction from you, from staff, from residents, and everybody involved really. Even the Cabinet member on Peterborough City Council had his say on the Show. The City Council says Welland and Greenwood House are not fit for purpose so should be closed. But the families of the residents and their carers are worried about the impact of moving elderly people, who could be deteriorating later in life. Yesterday, Terry Rich, the Director of Adult Social Care at the Council, the man who came up with the report, the man behind the proposals, says elderly people are not in danger. (TAPE)
TERRY RICH: many years ago there were stories of poorly managed closures, where there was evidence that that was the case. There has been a huge amount of work around how is the best way to manage these very sensitive change processes. And I’ve known of many instances where people have thrived when they’ve moved on. .. People suffering from dementia often need good quality environment. They need space where they can wander freely in safety. They need a design of buildings which minimises the anxiety. Now staff in our homes are doing the very best that they can in the circumstances. But in my professional view, there is a much better environment that could be provided for people with dementia. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well just over an hour ago, we heard from Yvonne Hossack, who’s a solicitor who’s represented vulnerable people and elderly people for the last fifteen years. She researched the effects of moving patients from care homes, and started by telling us what she discovered and experienced first hand. (TAPE)
YVONNE HOSSACK: In the first care home closure case I did, which was in 1997, people were a lot less frail than they are nowadays. 37% of them died in the year following the closure. That’s 15 out of 41. And I compared that to the usual death rate in homes in Northamponshire over a four year period, which was just over 18%. So twice as many died. .. More recently in 2009 and 2010, I did outcome mortality data from three care home closures, Wolverhampton, Hull and Southampton, and 26 out of 54 of the residents died within months of hearing bad news or months of moving. Continue reading “Care Home Closure – Avoiding Fatal Outcomes”
