No guarantees over the closure of Council old peoples’ homes
On 22nd August Luton Council’s Labour Executive is due to take a decision “To Further Rationalise & Restructure Local Authority Elder Persons’ Homes” and Liberal Democrats asked at last Tuesday’s Council meeting for assurances this does not mean more closures of Council run residential homes.
Despite repeated questioning from Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor David Franks, the Labour Councillor responsible for old peoples’ care could not be budged from her refusal to give any guarantees.
“I really hope this is not leading to another round of the anxiety, concern and uncertainty which surrounded Labour’s closure of Sherd Lodge and The Mount,” said David Franks. “I’ve not met anybody who believed those so called consultation exercises were real; most thought they were a bit of window dressing with the decisions already taken beforehand.”
“If they are planning residential home closures then they should come clean and own up, the sooner the better. It is just not fair that they create these long periods of uncertainty. It causes totally unnecessary pain and anguish for all those involved.”
Our mother at 97 is a resident at Westlea. We attended a preliminary meeting there last night and the mood was as you have commented. There were several residents at the meeting who had been moved from Sherd Lodge and now felt they would be moved again. Exchanges were angry at times and there will certainly be protests made to the council. The council admits that the quality of care provided at Westlea is the best in Luton – but the controlling factor seems to be the cost of maintaing the home.