Temporary closure for Rhondda care home
A CARE home in the Rhondda is set to temporarily close as part of a council shake up of care homes.
Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council’s cabinet agreed on Monday to the temporary closure of the 24-bed Ystrad Fechan care home in Treorchy with the eight residents moving to Pentre House or another home of their choosing which meets their needs.
Cabinet also approved the creation of 10 new step up step down beds at Parc Newydd in Talbot Green in partnership with Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board to help with discharging patients from hospital.
The Ystrad Fechan temporary closure is being proposed due to prolonged low resident numbers and occupancy and lack of demand for long term placements at the home but the report acknowledged that the temporary closure might cause anxiety for residents, families and staff. The Parc Newydd proposal is being put forward to help with hospital discharges with the additional step up step down capacity being created using vacant capacity in RCT’s care homes.
The idea is that it will reduce avoidable emergency admissions to hospital, help with discharging patients from acute and community hospitals and improve patient flow through the urgent care system as well as promoting a person’s return to independence and communitybased support.
The report said that Parc Newydd care home is suitable for this given its location close to Royal Glamorgan Hospital and its configuration which would allow a self-contained wing with a separate lounge and kitchen and a garden which would not be possible at Ystrad Fechan.
The cabinet report said that since the start of the pandemic there has been an increase in care home vacancies.
The current capacity is not required in its current form, even when considering the uncertainties of the medium to long term impact of the pandemic, it added.
But in the short term, the temporary redesign of the council’s residential care homes should increase stability, reduce some cost pressures, and ensure people can access good quality care and support when they need it, including the need to support timely and safe hospital discharge, the report said.
Longer term proposals and options for the modernisation and investment in residential services will be presented to cabinet in the autumn.
In December 2020, following a review and consultation on the future provision of the council’s care homes for the elderly, the council agreed to keep nine care homes refocusing on complex needs, reablement and respite care and Ystrad Fechan and Parc Newydd were among them.
They agreed to close Danymynydd in Porth and Bronllwyn, converting the former into extra care housing and redeveloping the latter into accommodation with care for those people with a learning disability.