Decision details

The Director of Adult Services provided Members with the preferred options on the future provision of accommodation with care for older people in each of the Council’s nine residential care homes and seeks approval to consult, where relevant, with the current residents and their families, staff and other stakeholders to enable the Cabinet to make informed decisions on the preferred options for each home. The Director also provided the Cabinet with the comments and feedback of the Overview and Scrutiny 2022-2027 Committee following its consideration of the report at the meeting held on 29^th November 2022.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care thanked the Director for the comprehensive report and was pleased to note the opportunity for further investment in residential care for older people, despite the current financial climate. The Cabinet Member felt that the proposals would provide a positive pathway to ensure dignity and respect in old age, with modern extra care homes, which would include provision for complex needs and support for those with learning disabilities in adulthood. The Cabinet Member voiced his support for the proposals and was of the view that they would enhance the health and wellbeing for older people in RCT. The Cabinet Member concluded by thanking the Scrutiny Committee for its valuable comments and expressed that he looked forward to receiving the results of the public consultation, should the report be approved.

The Deputy Leader spoke of the surplus of beds in some of the existing residential facilities and commented that the current provision did not meet the standards required. The Deputy Leader expressed that the Councils must change with the times and explained that the new high-end facilities would provide greater choice for older people, including married couples who sometimes must be separated as the facilities are not available. The Deputy Leader also took the opportunity to thank the Scrutiny Committee for the work undertaken in respect of the proposals.

The Leader spoke of the significant package of investment and as a Local Member for Mountain Ash was pleased to note the proposal for a facility in the ward which would be a mixture of residential, dementia and extra care; and the similar packages offered for both Treorchy and Ferndale. The Leader also spoke of the package offered for the South of the Borough, which would repurpose homes for people with supported needs and explained that a similar model had been a success in both the Cynon and Rhondda.

The Leader spoke of the direction of change in older people accommodation and the fact that the pandemic had accelerated the need for the Council to meet the needs. It was explained that many people prefer to be supported at home, and that those in a residential setting often need a higher level of support.

In respect of the process, the Leader assured Members that meetings were taking place with staff and Trade Unions to discuss any concerns. In terms of the residents, the Leader made it clear that any new buildings would be built in the first instance, to ensure residents are only moved once.

When questioned about the cost of the significant investment, the Leader explained that the three Extra Care facilities package alone equates to over £50M; and that the three new homes with residential, dementia and extra care provision and the remodelling of the Garth Olwg home would be in the range of £60M but the exact cost had yet to be determined.

The Cabinet RESOLVED:

1.    To consider the information in the report and the comments and feedback arising from the pre-scrutiny of the draft report undertaken Overview & Scrutiny Committee;

2.    To the preferred options, as set out in Section 6, to retain the current service provision at the five Council residential care homes listed below:

·       Clydach Court (Trealaw)

·       Pentre House (Pentre)

·       Tegfan (Trecynon)

·       CaeGlas (Hawthorn)

·       Parc Newydd (Talbot Green)

3.    To initiate public consultation with the individuals and their families and staff who were relocated from Ystrad Fechan Care in August this year, and other relevant stakeholders on the preferred option to permanently decommission Ystrad Fechan care home and continue to explore with Linc Cymru and the Health Board the development of land near the existing care home to provide new accommodation with care provision, including 40 extra care apartments and 20 residential dementia care beds, along with other health and social care accommodation options depending on available development space and need, as set out in Section 6 of this report. Ystrad Fechan care home is currently temporarily closed and has no residents living there;

4.    To initiate public consultation with the current residents and their families, staff and other relevant stakeholders on the preferred option to work with Linc Cymru to explore options to develop land near the existing Ferndale House care home to provide new accommodation with care provision, including   20  extra care apartments and 10 residential dementia care beds and decommission Ferndale House care home when the new proposed alternative accommodation with care for older people provision is developed, as set out in Section 6 of the report;              

5.    To initiate public consultation with the current residents and their families, staff and other relevant stakeholders on the preferred option to work with Linc Cymru to explore options to develop land near the existing Troedyrhiw care home to provide new accommodation with care provision, including   25  extra care apartments and 15 residential dementia care beds and decommission the Troedyrhiw care home when the new proposed alternative accommodation with care for older people provision is developed, as set out in Section 6 of the report;           

6.    To initiate public consultation with the current residents and their families, staff and other relevant stakeholders on the preferred option to redevelop Garth Olwg care home to provide alternative accommodation with care to support people with learning disabilities in adulthood and decommission Garth Olwg care home for older people when suitable alternative placements are found for existing residents in a home of their choice which meets their assessed needs; and

7.    To receive a further report following conclusion of the proposed consultation, including an updated full Equality Impact Assessment prior to any final decision being made in relation to the preferred options on the future provision of accommodation for older people in the Council’s residential care homes.