Care of elderly plan is so vital
I faced a dilemma as I sat down to write this column.
Last time, I wrote about your council’s proposals to invest £17.6 million modernising local care homes and some people’s misguided criticism of the plans.
The problem is, I still think how we look after our elderly is one of the most important issues we face, so my apologies if I return to the subject again.
Our proposals are designed to give older folk exactly what we know they want – to live at home and in their communities and, when necessary, they want our support to help them do so for as long as possible.
No one wants to go into hospital and when they do, they want to go home as soon as they are fit to.
They don’t want to go into a care home unless they really need to – and if they do have to, they want the facilities to be as good as possible.
These are the principles at the heart of the care homes modernisation programme and phase one is already seeing plans developed for a new care facility in Blantyre to serve the Hamilton/Blantyre area.
This will be a transitional care facility, so-called because it will be a unit where people stay for a short time, either to get them back on their feet after a spell in hospital or to prevent them having to go into hospital in the first place.
The facility will be part of a wider hub, with a centre of excellence for the training and provision of the sort of skills, like physiotherapy, that residents will need before they can go home.
Top levels of care will also continue to be provided to support them when they do go home. There will also be a number of hi-tech permanent homes for some particularly dependent people.
Some people have focused on the fact the plan envisages the replacement of Kirkton House and McWhirter House.
The council has eight care homes. Four are in very good shape for the long term but four are ageing, including Kirkton and McWhirter. Soon they will not be able to provide the care people need – unlike the new hub at Blantyre.
Future phases of the modernisation plan will involve us speaking to local communities, care home residents, their families and staff about the right solutions for their areas, with the second phase Clydesdale and then Larkhall/Stonehouse.
Consultation has already begun on the next phases and nothing is written in stone.
What matters is what works to meet each area’s needs.
Now, I think this is a reasonable approach and I am convinced that the result will be better facilities that better meet local people’s needs, with a mix of residential care, intermediate care and care at home. I urge everyone to put people before politics on this vital matter.
Meanwhile, a short word ahead of Sunday’s 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
I have attended a number of Remembrance events this year and on November 11 will be proud and honoured to represent the council at the Centenary Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph in Hamilton.
Lest We Forget.