Details Emerge of Future for Linelands

A new facility for older people in Lincolnshire is set to be built in the county, providing what many view as the ‘future of care’.

Council land in Nettleham is to be developed into extra care housing, which offers an alternative to residential care for those still able to maintain their independence.

The site will be made up of self-contained dwellings, meaning residents will be able to live in their own home, with access to round-the-clock on-site support if they need it.

As well as developing the Nettleham site, the council will be investing more than £2.5m into extra care housing across the county between now and the end of 2014/15.

West Lindsey District Councillor, Giles McNeill, Conservative (Nettleham Ward) welcomed the development saying:

"Since it became clear that it was no longer an option for the County Council to be providing care facilities, like Linelands, in Nettleham, directly; I have campaigned vigourously for the site to be utilised for the provision of care for the elderly.

"I am really pleased that plans are now moving forward rapidly to make new provision available, I look forward to seeing full plans in the near future."

Councillor Seeks to Reassure Over Linelands Closure

People using three county care homes are being reassured that a range of other high-quality, local options are now available - with potential new care facilities also announced today.

The Lincolnshire County Council pledge comes as it has now decided on the closure timescales for its homes in Nettleham, Sleaford and Grantham. As it works towards modernising and personalising care provision in Lincolnshire, the authority’s Executive decided last July that the homes would close, but only when it was satisfied that suitable alternative provision was available.

In addition, the council has also revealed today that it is in the early stages of work towards new housing for the over 55’s in Nettleham and a potential dementia centre in Grantham.

Councillor Graham Marsh, Conservative (Alford & Sutton Division), Executive Member for Adult Social Care, said:

"With a rapidly growing elderly population, providing the best possible care for our residents is an absolute priority for the council. By closing three outdated and expensive homes and replacing them with access to an improved menu of care options, we hope residents can see how we’re meeting this priority.

"We promised to only close the remaining three homes when we were confident that alternatives were available; we’ve worked very hard to identify and create those alternatives by stimulating the market and high-quality choice, with sufficient vacancies and specialisms, now exists in each area.

"What’s more, we’re striving to add to this further through the creation of new, extra care housing and dementia centres, whilst £9.1m of ‘reablement’ funding with the NHS will also be invested in support services and technologies."

The county council is working with interested parties including Longhurst Group and West Lindsey District Council to develop proposals for a new-build housing-with-care facility to meet community needs in the Linelands area. The authority is also working with The Orders of St. John Care Trust towards their proposed new care home at Springfield Road, Grantham, which is expected to receive planning consent shortly with construction likely to commence during 2012.

Linelands in Nettleham, Bonner House in Sleaford and Grantham’s Harrison House are now working towards closure by the end of May. All staff are being supported and the county council is assisting those who are looking to enter the market as private providers themselves.

Cllr Marsh added:

"There will very understandably be concerns among carers and people who use the homes about the disruption and change, but we’ll help them every step of the way to make it as smooth a transition as possible. Once these have happened, we’re confident that the future for both current and future users of care services in Lincolnshire will be much improved."

Carers and the people currently using the three homes will now be invited to a series of marketplace events to help them find the best solutions for them, including respite and intermediate care and other needs. Information packs will also be sent to the service users and each of the homes, with local providers also visiting the homes to present the range of services they offer and the county council will offer all support possible.

Linelands Expected to Close in May

Linelands Care Home in Nettleham is set to close by the end of May, with alternative care found for the forty people currently using the centre.

Lincolnshire County Council estimates savings of £2.5 million by the end of 2013 from the closure of eight care homes run by the authority across the county.  Linelands, along with Bonner House in Sleaford and Harrison House in Grantham, is part of the second wave of care home closures by the council.

Linelands has twelve respite beds, fifteen intermediate care beds and forty-six day care places, catering for people with dementia and with high dependancy needs.

The move to close the centre is in line with previous Labour government's scheme to transfer care service users onto personal budgets. The County Council says it expects to be able to implement personal budget with Linelands service users by the end of May.

The first wave of care home closures included Park View in Lincoln, The Cedars in Gainsborough, Ingelow Manor in Boston, Halmer Grange in Spalding and Crowtree House in Louth.

Interim Assistant Director of Adult Social Care Commissioning, Mr. Terry Hawkins, explained that if sufficient replacement care is not found for residents, Linelands would stay open later than May.

"After closing the five homes last year ahead of schedule, we feel we can safely provide the residents with independent care and care brokerage support within three months, but Linelands will not close before."

Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Cllr. Graham Marsh, Conservative (Alford & Sutton Division), assured sufficient alternative choices for care are in place.

"We’ve worked hard to identify and create those alternatives by stimulating the market and high-quality choice, with sufficient vacancies and specialism, now exists in each area."

The council is also exploring alternative uses for the Linelands site, such as a dementia hub alongside adjacent supported living accommodation, Church View.

The latest closures will bring the total adult social care job losses to three hundred and fifteen countywide, including at the two Lincoln sites, Swallow Lodge and Linelands. Staff has been offered training to find other care jobs, as well as support to set up their own businesses to offer services to those using personal allowances.

County Council's Executive Vote to Close Linelands

Lincolnshire County Council’s Executive today voted unanimously to implement proposals for Lincolnshire's care services. The plans include five care homes closing in September and the other three -  including Linelands in Nettleham - will close at the end of March next year after suitable private alternatives are found.

Above: Unison members demonstrate outside Lincolnshire
County Council headquarters. © 2011 Lincolnshire Echo

The authority argues that delivering a better quality of social care in the future requires delivery by the private sector and the end of council-run care facilities. The authority expects savings, potentially running to millions of pounds. The plans will mean many jobs will be lost, although, Leader of the Council, Cllr. Martin Hill, Conservative (Folkingham Rural Division), insists that:

"the driver behind this is not financial savings."

Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Cllr. Graham Marsh, Conservative (Alford & Sutton on Sea Division), told the meeting:

"I think it's very disappointing that some people would wish to deny people personal choice by insisting that we maintain expensive, out-of-date buildings to deliver services which can be delivered as far more cost effective, and as good quality, in the private and third sectors.

"When I retire, if I'm unfortunate enough to need services, I don't want to be given the same choices that my parents had, which was take it or leave it as there's nothing else available."

"This is change for the better – today's decision will be looked back on as the day the lives of care home residents took a huge stride forward in quality.

"We know the word 'closure' could be seen as negative and, very understandably, cause some carers and families to be worried. However, what we are closing are old, outdated homes – both the current and future generations of residents deserve better."

A rally against the proposals, co-ordinated by Unison outside the County Council’s offices, ahead of the executive meeting rallied only twenty-five people. Those at the rally could just be heard chanting:

"Martin Hill, here us say, how many homes have you shut today?"

Mrs. Elaine Smith, whose mother is a former care service user in the county, interrupted proceedings by shouting comments from the public gallery throughout the meeting until she declared that members of the council's Executive councillors were telling 'fairy tales' and Cllr. Hill was forced to suspend the meeting and threatened to have her removed from the public gallery. Mrs. Smith left the gallery.

Mrs. Smith told The Lincolnite:

"I think it’s totally wrong. Initially they were saying they want a mixed economy of care, which obviously includes public sector care as well as private care.

"There won’t be any mixed economy. There won’t be a benchmark and I do worry about the future of care that people will receive that now will lose these services and will need them in the future."

Mr. John Sharman, Lincolnshire Branch Secretary for Unison, unconvincingly tried to make an ill-informed link between the tough measures being taken by the Coalition Government as a result of the economic legacy left to the previous Labour government :

"What happens when the market gets it wrong?

"Let's remember that the whole attack on public spending and public services is predicated on another part of the market getting it wrong.

“I have no confidence whatsoever in using the private sector market as a regulator of services."

"I wouldn’t want to give false expectations in saying that we believe that a campaign will guarantee [the county council will keep its public care services], but if I didn't have that hope, and if I didn’t believe that what we do could produce a result, I'd pack up and go home, quite frankly.

"I have no intention of doing that."

Mrs. Phyl Lynn, a senior member of staff at Linelands, said:

"It's horrendous. These homes are a lifeline for the residents there. They're important for people to mix with other people. It's everything to them."

Nettleham Parish Councillor Giles McNeill said:

"There are two issues. The first is weather it is right to close the current stock of council-run care homes, the second is the issue of how the staff of these facilities have been treated.

"I have no particular problem with the County Council looking to make the best provision possible available to local residents, unfortunately that means beloved local facilities are having to close. However, it is clear to me that the way the staff have been handled has been very much below standard - the offcious letters, the endless churn of senior staff as individuals have seemingly jumped ship. There have clearly been severe problems in terms of the management of the very valuable human resourse the council employs."

Linelands' Employees Consulted About Redundancy Options

Employees at the Linelands care home, on All Saints Lane, Nettleham have been contacted over the weekend by letter as part of Lincolnshire County Council's ongoing 'Shaping Care' consultation. The consultation directly relates to the five of eight facilities directly managed by the council and  as part of an inclusive approach being taken by the council all employees have been contacted - whih includes the three designated to be retained for the next two years, as alternative provision is developed.

Immediately, local people learning about the situation were very concerned, but conversations with Cllr. Graham Marsh, Conservative (Alford & Sutton on Sea Division), who has executive responsibility for Adult Social Care, made it clear that none of the staff in Nettleham were in any immediate danger of being made redundant.

Linelands is expected to close in the future - in two or three years time frame - for redevelopment, once alternative provision is in place and a new facilities for extra care and sheltered accommodation can be brought forward. The current vision is for a hub providing various different types of community care to a wide range of users.

Mr. Terry Hawkins, interim Aassistant Director for Adult Social Care said:

"The proposal is for no change to our original schedule for five homes to close in September as alternative services are put in place.
"The remaining three homes won't close until further analysis and work in the market is carried out and suitable alternatives are ready. This current consultation is to do with staff changes. We remain committed to high quality care as we move towards personalisation, giving people more choice and control."

Currently the proposal is that five care homes will close by the end of September 2011, including Park View in Lincoln. Further work is being carried out for the three remaining homes, which includes Linelands. No home will close before alternative services are identified. The council says:

"No one will be left without support and we will be helping people to find alternative care that meets their needs. People will see a greater choice available in the independent sector and have more control over how they receive their care.

"This is about making sure that future care for older people meets their needs, is modern and fit for purpose. People told us they wanted to see high quality care that is responsive, modernised, accessible and providing value for money."

Details of the Shaping Care for the 21st Century can be found here.

First Call - Practical and emotional support, maintaining dignity and independence at home

Think of the British Red Cross and you might first think of first aid workers at public events or rescue teams at any of the international crises that seem to regularly occur in the world. But there is a local service provided by the Red Cross in Lincolnshire that might not be so well known. In addition to all the other services that the Red Cross provides, it also offers a care in the home facility called First Call that provides support to people within their own homes.

This can include the provision of one or more of the following:

• Occasional or regular telephone support calls where people can discuss problems and/or be signposted to other organisations or sources of help.
• Being a friend that can provide companionship and emotional support.
• Practical support with things like shopping, domestic tasks, arranging transport etc.

Though time limited (up to 12 weeks), this service is invaluable in assisting people to build their self confidence and increase their ability to cope. It provides individuals and their carers with access to support and services that the users feel are relevant to increase their independence and personal confidence. If at the end of the agreed time it is felt that the person needs more long time support, it will refer onto organisations that can provide more of the type of support needed

 

This service is available to everyone and referrals are accepted from individuals, family members, friends and neighbours, social services, hospitals GP’s and other health care professionals.

 

If you know of someone who would benefits from this service please contact the British Red Cross on 0845 054 7171 or email us on firstcall@redcross.org.uk.