Cabinet To Decide On Future Of East Green
Published on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 11:17 am
East Green Care home could close following consultation events
Councillors this week guaranteed that a consultation into the future of local authority care home, East Green in West Auckland, would be fair and thorough.
At a meeting of Durham County Council’s Cabinet, members agreed to seek the views of residents, carers and staff on the proposed closure of the council-owned residential home.
The home is just one of several in the area who’s future is in the balance, with care homes in Shildon and Ferryhill also under threat of closure or major changes.
The consultation will run from Monday, February 1st, to Friday, April 30th, and the council will now begin the process of setting up a dedicated phone line and email address.
Everyone affected by any changes to provision will be invited to give their views and all feedback will be taken into consideration before any decision is made, say cabinet members.
Councillor Morris Nicholls, Durham County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said, “During a 12-week period we will not only be seeking the views of those currently living in local authority homes, but also their carers, family members, staff and other relevant individuals and organisations.
“Once the process is complete, we will then take some time to collate and consider the feedback we receive so that we can make a fully-informed decision on the future of the services we provide.
“We are concerned that there has been some speculation that closures are inevitable and that the consultation will not be as full, fair, thorough and comprehensive as it should be. I would, therefore, like to stress that we are genuinely seeking people’s views and that we will be taking those views into consideration when making any decision on the course of action to take.”
Rachael Shimmin, Durham County Council’s Corporate Director of Adults, Wellbeing and Health, said, “We are very much aware that this is an extremely emotive issue and one on which many people will want to give their views. “We would like to assure people that they will have a fair opportunity to get involved in the consultation and that their opinion will count.”
Councilor Nicholls went on to say that, “An increasing number of older people are now choosing to remain in their own homes rather than move into residential care.
This is reflected in a significant decrease in demand for residential places, with some local authority-run homes in the county operating at around 50 per cent occupancy.”
This article originally appeared in Issue No. 22. Read or download The Bishop Press Issue No. 22 (PDF).
No Comments »
No one has posted a comment yet.
Leave a comment
Complete the form below to post a comment about this article. Comments will be published online and may appear in the next print edition of The Bishop Press. For correspondance to the Editor, please use the Contact Us page.
Read Back Issues
Read the full-colour printed version of The Bishop Press, exactly as it comes through your door.
About The Bishop Press
The Bishop Press is produced by Community Newspaper Support Ltd, a not-for-profit company.
The Bishop Press,
3 - 4 First Floor Offices,
Shildon Town Council,
Civic Hall Square,
Shildon,
DL4 1AH
Continue reading about The Bishop Press.