Hampshire councillor says council-run care homes will not be shut down after two 'temporarily closed' this year

Concerns have been raised at Hampshire County Council about the long-term future of the social care budget, with current projections forecasting a £14m budget deficit by 2023/24.

With the social care levy not due to take effect until April 2023, there are some in the county council who fear for the future of care homes that are no longer financially viable.

Earlier this year, Cranleigh Paddock in Lyndhurst and Copper Beeches in Andover were ‘temporarily closed’ by the council, with occupants moving to alternative nearby housing options.

But executive member for adult services and public health, Cllr Liz Fairhurst, has vowed that no care home in Hampshire will be closed down.

She said: ‘Can I make one thing absolutely clear - we are not in the care home business to make money. We run care homes to care for people and that will always be the bottom line.

‘Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been reluctant to put their loved ones into care homes, and so we made the decision to consolidate two homes in our area.

‘We plan for all temporarily closed homes to reopen in the near future.

‘We want to provide the best care we possibly can. Part of that is getting people into care homes, but also in recruiting and retaining staff members.’

At the time when the care homes were closed, the county council said they would remain closed ‘at least until the summer of 2022.’

Cranleigh Paddock was reportedly at 50 per cent capacity at the time it was closed.

Following the closure, nearby Forest Court in Totton reached a capacity of 90 per cent.

But opposing Liberal Democrat spokesman for health and social care, Cllr David Harrison, fears the long-term impact could be far worse due to rising costs, less government funding and climbing inflation rates.

He said: ‘We’ve already seen that Hampshire County Council is willing to close care homes, even if it is a temporary measure.

‘There are a number of challenges facing the social care sector, that’s irrefutable. Covid-19 tore through care homes at the start of the pandemic and that also drove down occupancy rates.

‘What happened at Forest Court is great, and it’s a wonderful care home - but that figure is all down to what happened at Cranleigh Paddock. I don’t know if it’ll ever reopen, truth be told.

‘What we have to bear in mind though is that uprooting elderly people from familiar environments is scientifically proven to speed up their mental deterioration.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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