Wife fears loss of day-centre service
A woman whose husband attends the day centre at a Newark care home says they would be lost without the service.
Mr James Paling, of Grange Road, Newark, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about six years ago and has been attending Woods Court for about three years. He goes three times a week.
His wife, Mrs Vivienne Paling, is worried that under Nottinghamshire County Council budget plans to sell 13 care homes, the day centre at Woods Court would close.
Mrs Paling said: “If they sold Woods Court, I don’t see how they can continue with the day centre.”
She said Mr Paling enjoyed going.
“It’s like a second home for him. He is a charming man and gets on well with people. They all make a fuss of him there,” she said.
“It also gives me a break and I don’t know what we would do without it.
“It is very important for him but it is also important for me. He could, I suppose, go to another day centre but that wouldn’t be the same.”
Mrs Paling said at a meeting on Friday, attended by 30-40 people, relatives of people in the care home and of people who attend the centre, were told it probably would not be sold for about 18 months.
She said other councils trying to sell care homes had been unsuccessful because of the financial climate.
Another concerned person, who did not want to be named, contacted the Advertiser with concerns about private companies selling care homes and staff not being able to keep their jobs.
They said Essex County Council sold ten care homes to the private sector and five were now closed.
The service director for Nottinghamshire County Council, Mr David Hamilton, said: “If Woods Court care home is sold, the day centre could possibly be sold with the home and could be run by the same organisation.
“Alternatively, the county council may continue to run the day centre or it could be managed by a completely different organisation. This is all still to be determined as part of any future sale.
“However, we can guarantee that anyone who is assessed as needing day services will still receive these services in the future.”
Mr Hamilton said if the care home was sold, the residents should not see any difference as staff would be transferred to the new organisation.
He said: “As part of the contract of sale, current residents are guaranteed to be cared for at the same home for three years.
“Contractual documentation will be drafted as far as possible to discourage the closure of homes in the future.
“The county council also has a fee structure with privately-owned homes, so those people we fund to live in a care home won’t be affected by any changes to charging.”
Mr Mel Shepherd, the cabinet member for adult services and health, is visiting all care homes owned by the council to meet people and reassure them that their homes will not close.
Mr Shepherd said: “Older people have a great deal of choice, as there are more than 160 privately-run care homes in Nottinghamshire.”
He said the county council paid care homes according to the quality of care they provided. Each home was assessed and an additional payment made to those that provided better quality care, encouraging homes to invest in quality staff and services.
People can have a say on the the care home proposals until January 22.