Council aims to shut four Kent care homes, pointing finger at funding

Kent County Council (KCC) is looking to close four care homes because Government funding cuts make them too expensive to run.

The care homes affected are Dorothy Lucy Centre in Maidstone, Kiln Court in Faversham, Wayfarers in Sandwich and Blackburn Lodge in Sheerness because the council cannot afford to upgrade its buildings to make them "fit for purpose".

On Monday, the council launched a public consultation and stated in its consultation document: "In order to meet the challenges that the council is facing, both in terms of the needs and expectations of today’s older people and the financial pressures of changing demand and reduced central Government funding, a thorough review is needed."

The council proposes to close Dorothy Lucy Centre and Kiln Court and find a buyer in the private sector to run Wayfarers and take on its existing staff. Alternative care services are being sought for residents in Blackburn Lodge in Sheerness.

Graham Gibbens, KCC cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: "We propose to close two of our homes because they are under-used and the buildings cannot provide quality care into the future without significant investment."

To make the care homes fit for purpose, the council would need to make "a significant investment to refit or build facilities to meet changing demands in line with Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards" and would have to spend between £1.4 million and £2.2 million per care home to improve the existing care homes. The homes currently cost approximately £4 million per year in running costs.

The four homes have between a 28 and 34 bed capacity. Dorothy Lucy Centre and Kiln Court currently have one permanent resident each. Figures from the Care Quality Commission show that the average care home de-registering for older people in the region has 28 beds. Cllr Gibbens added: "There is sufficient alternative accommodation in the Maidstone and Faversham areas for the residents of the Dorothy Lucy Centre and Kiln Court, with plans to progress the development of modern care services on the Isle of Sheppey to ensure the current residents of Blackburn Lodge, and future people needing care, remain in their local community."

Opposition Labour spokesman Councillor Gordon Cowan said: “The council should have planned ahead. They need en-suites in the rooms and the planning should have been done for this long ago. There wasn’t any funding cuts five or six years ago and they should have put the investment in then.”

A decision on the outcome of the 12 week consultation will be taken early next year. http://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti/carehomes/consultationHome