Positive reaction to care home plan
A COUNCIL-RUN Ogmore Valley care home may be transferred to a private company as part of the authority’s reform of its care services.
A report considered by a scrutiny committee this week recommends that Ty Cwm Ogwr care home in Pantyrawel be put out to tender, with the potential for the site to be “remodelled” based on the council’s future needs.
The move raises the possibility that, in the future, Ty Cwm Ogwr could be converted into a specialist facility to care for elderly patients with a mental illness.
The report by Bridgend County Borough Council’s social services director Susan Cooper notes that such a facility is a “highpriority area” for BCBC.
A formal request seek- ing approval for the plans will not be submitted until next month, but the report recommends that the tender of Ty Cwm Ogwr goes ahead after an overwhelmingly positive reaction from staff and patients’ families.
A total of 90% of respondents to a council survey approved the plans to find a private operator for Ty Cwm Ogwr, saying that the chance to remain at the Pantyrawel site would bring “peace of mind” to everyone con- nected to the residential home, which has 28 beds and around 40 staff, who would transfer to any new operator.
The move is being proposed as part of the plan to modernise the county’s care services by replacing two of its other residential care homes with two new Extra Care Housing (ECH) facilities, which are currently under construction in Maesteg and Ynysawdre.
Under the new plan, Ty Cwm Ogwr residents could remain where they are and important provision would remain in the Ogmore Valley.
The two new Extra Care Housing facilities, which give residents more independence, are set to open in the autumn.
Bridgend council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the plan to put Ty Cwm Ogwr out to tender next month.