Edinburgh care homes: Public being asked their views on planned closure of four care homes

Future of four Edinburgh care homes up in air

The future of four Edinburgh care homes remains up in the air as health bosses prepare for a wide-ranging consultation on the future of care services in the Capital.

Controversial plans to close the four council-owned homes – Ford’s Road, Clovenstone, Jewel House and Ferrylee – and a fifth, Drumbrae, were announced in June 2021 with the loss of 211 care home beds. But the proposals sparked protests over a lack of consultation and a decision originally scheduled for August 2021 was postponed so a full public consultation could take place.

The closure of Drumbrae did go ahead because it was due to be converted to an NHS-run complex care centre – though NHS Lothian then failed to sign the lease and has now abandoned the scheme because of costs, leaving the home standing empty for the past year.

Jewel House care home is one of the four earmarked for closure. Picture Greg Macvean.

Edinburgh’s Integration Joint Board (EIJB), which oversees health and social care in the city, has now begun the planning for a consultation but it will be much broader than the future of the other four homes. A report to the EIJB said: “It has been agreed that the consultation will focus on the broad future provision of care and support for older people in Edinburgh.”

A 12-week pre-consultation period will see stakeholders such as care homes, trade unions, carers and health staff helping to shape the questions to be asked in the consultation. Green councillor Claire Miller asked who would give final approval to the questions. Chief officer Judith Proctor said: “We could bring that here to the IJB – obviously that adds time to that, but very happy to make this as transparent as possible. If the board is keen to sign off on that we can factor that in.”

The EIJB has also brought in The Consultation Institute, a not-for-profit best-practice organisation, to help with the consultation. EIJB chair Tim Pogson said there seemed broad support for the approach that was being taken. “We need to get this right, but I’m keen this progresses as quickly as it can, allowing the time that’s necessary for us to get it right – I don’t want to cut any corners.”

The report said the "bed base review” which led to the proposal to close the four homes had identified an imbalance of beds within the city. More people were living at home for longer and therefore had more complex care needs later in life. But the council’s care homes offered residential care without any nursing provision or specialist dementia care. A new model of care was being implemented in the three larger care homes to include registered nurses, enabling a shift from residential care to nursing and dementia care. But the four older homes could not adopt the new nursing model of care because they were now past their life design expectancy and did not meet modern day design standards. If these homes were to be decommissioned, residents would need to be found alternative accommodation and staff would need to be redeployed.

Fords Road care home is now past its design life expectancy, say health chiefs. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

‘The need for residential care homes has not gone away’

Trade unions representing care home staff have campaigned to keep the four homes open or make sure they are replaced. And they have argued strongly for care home provision to remain in the pubic sector. Labour has previously said it is opposed to the closures.

David Harrold of Unison told the committee: “The need for residential care homes has not gone away and is in fact increasing. Any road taken should not be based solely on financial considerations but on what existing and future generations of older people will need. These are our grandparents, our mothers and fathers and one day us.”

Des Loughney of the Edinburgh TUC accepted the current model of care has to change. But he raised concerns about any increased reliance on the private sector and stressed the need for a reasonably paid and trained workforce. “A frank admission must be made that the race to the bottom over the last decade has undermined social care and brought us to the brink of disaster. It has to be recognised that the development of the so-called partnership with the private sector and accompanying race to the bottom has not worked.”