Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Plains home is set to close within months
Last three residents forced to move
Airdrie intermediate care home Monklands House is to close by the autumn.
The decision was approved at last week’s meeting of North Lanarkshire’s health and social care integrated joint board (IJB) as part of its intermediate care review.
The centre in Stanrigg Street, Plains, has 21 beds and provides “a comprehensive support service for older adults, assisting them to return to their own homes wherever it is safe and possible to do so”, such as after being discharged from hospital, as well as offering respite and short-stay breaks.
Airdrie North councillor Sophia Coyle is concerned about the impact on the centre’s small number of long- term residents and the wider area’s respite capacity.
She also feels that the threat to its future was not well known.
She told the Advertiser: “Monklands House is a great facility.
“Money was spent on refurbishing it recently and it’s superb, with fantastic rooms and everything being on the same level.
“I think it’s a huge loss to the Airdrie and Coatbridge area and even further afield. There are a lot of dedicated staff there and residents love the company and their surroundings and it’s a shame to lose that.
“There are three people there who thought that would be their home but are now told they have to move in August.
“Monklands House also provides care for people coming out of hospital and provides respite breaks for people.
“I’m concerned there’s going to be a shortage of respite care places, which needs to be highlighted, and I’m worried that things like this will push people to the private care system.”
A spokesperson for the North Lanarkshire IJB said: “The three remaining residents will be fully supported into a new care environment appropriate to their needs and there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this decision.
“It is in line with the Scottish Government’s strategy of placing greater emphasis on supporting people in their own homes and communities and Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire’s ‘achieving integration’ plan, which sets out a vision focused on prevention, anticipation and supported self-management.
“We know that people would rather be supported in their own homes or in an appropriate community setting.
“Monklands House does not provide care which fits with the decisions already made in February, which ultimately aim to achieve more people being supported to live independently within their own communities.”
Members of the IJB were told in a report: “Monklands House currently provides seven respite beds with around 60 per cent usage.
“An extra four respite beds will be created at the Muirpark facility to ensure no loss in capacity in the immediate term”.
It added that the review will create “integrated locality teams that will reach to hospital sites, offer rapid community response, support the ‘hospital at home’ model and create a model of discharge to assess.
“The new model will improve outcomes, providing greater consistency between sites and continuity of care between inpatient facilities and the community.
“The aim is to create a focus on reablement and rehabilitation, shortening hospital stays, supporting people home earlier, reducing the risk of deterioration and maximising the chance of independent living.”