Agenda item

The Cabinet considered the future use of the Grange, Kidderminster. The details were set out in the report.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·         The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care introduced the report and thanked the local councillor for her input. He acknowledged receipt of a petition from Mrs Jones of Bewdley asking the Council not to close the Grange. There had been a shift of focus from fixed bed recovery to individually focused services for people in their own homes which had put the future use of the Grange at risk. However it was recognised that it would be beneficial to retain a limited step down provision (5 beds) at the Grange for the benefit of Wyre Forest CCG. The rise in cases of dementia was a particular challenge with a lack of good quality residential care provision in the county. It therefore made sense to reconfigure the Grange as a long term residential unit for people living with dementia. There would also be cost saving benefits over the longer term albeit with some short term expenditure

·         Residents would see the best of both worlds with the creation of a major dementia unit in the heart of Wyre Forest and the retention of a limited number of short term rehabilitation and recovery beds. The CCG had given an assurance that the majority of patients who had previously used the step down facility at the Grange would be provided with the appropriate level of support to enable them to remain in their own homes. The majority of staff would be transferred to the new roles at the Grange

·         The local councillor thanked the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care for his help and welcomed the proposals. There was a lot of local support for the retention of the step down provision. She requested that she be kept informed of progress and that the reallocation of beds be based on previous usage and best care for the patients. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care responded that he had received an assurance from the CCG that the step down provision at the Grange was appropriate for the needs of the residents of Wyre Forest

·         A member from outside the Cabinet raised the issue of private care homes no longer accepting dementia patients when they became difficult to handle. Local residents had expressed concern about whether 5 step down beds were sufficient, the continuation of the same level of Physiotherapy and occupational physiotherapy, whether the dementia beds would be kept separate and whether the CCG would be able to provide adequate support to enable patients to remain in their own homes.  The Strategic Commissioner for Adult Social Care responded that the configuration of the Grange enabled the dementia unit to be kept separate from the step down unit. It also provided flexibility to increase provision to 7 beds if necessary. There was also an option to increase the capacity by a further 10-15 beds should demand dictate. In liaison with the CCG to the model including demand and capacity issues had been thoroughly tested.

RESOLVED that the assessment made by the Director of Adult Services be endorsed, based on market intelligence, that as the delivery of rehabilitation services will be primarily community-based there is no longer a need for retention of the Grange as a short-term recovery and rehabilitation unit, there is no material gain to the Council in closing The Grange as a care home and it should be retained as a strategic asset in the form of a long-term residential unit for people living with dementia as set out in the report, with five beds retained for short-term recovery and rehabilitation.