Families call for moratorium on council-run care home closures

Families are calling on Scotland’s new first minister to bring in a moratorium on council-run care home closures.

Their call to stop care homes becoming another victim of budget cuts is backed by Age Scotland which warns of a “drastic shift away from the public provision of social care services”. South Lanarkshire council’s integrated joint board run McClymont House in Lanark, earmarked for closure, with the local authority saying they will close unless there is more financial support from government.

That plea has already been rejected by Holyrood.

Families argue that there is no equal provision of alternatives and moving vulnerable residents will not only be detrimental to their health, but it will also leave visitors facing a 100-mile round trip to the nearest local authority care home.

In their letter to John Swinney, families ask: “Will you call for a moratorium on care home closures unless there is a cast iron independently assessed guarantee that the same level of care will be provided and there is no detriment to the health and wellbeing of residents?”

Age Scotland’s policy director Adam Stachura said: “This is a prime example of losing excellent care.

“If this home were to close its doors for good, the impact on residents would be substantial as they face an ultimatum of moving considerable distances from their community, likely posing a risk to their health and increasing loneliness and isolation from friends and family.

“With fewer local options, services becoming harder to access and an increasing reliance on unpaid carers, the future of the social care landscape looks bleak. Unfortunately, there is very little action being taken to address it to the scale required. The government, councils and COSLA must take responsibility and, in this instance, look at how to save the care home.”