Threatened Jura respite flat given some breathing space
Volunteers campaigning to save a respite flat on Jura have won a two-month reprieve, writes Kathie Griffiths.
After a meeting between Jura Care Centre Group (JCCG), Argyll and Bute’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and West Highland Housing Association (WHHA), the respite flat that is part of the care centre in Craighouse can stay open for the time being.
Last month The Oban Times reported how JCCG members were ‘dismayed and shocked’ when they found out only by chance that the HSCP decided on Christmas Eve 2020 to stop funding the flat.
Arrangements were being made to clear furniture out of the flat and move in a full-time resident mid-February when the JCCG eventually heard what was happening.
A spokesperson for JCCG said the meeting on March 5 between all three partners had resulted in a two-month reprieve to try and find a solution.
‘We are fairly hopeful we will work something out,’ she said.
Another of the flats owned by
WHHA in the same building had become empty, temporarily allowing the respite flat to stay available for now.
More meetings are now planned to discuss the future of the flat used for Jura residents to convalesce after hospital treatment before returning to their own homes, as well as allowing carers to take much-needed breaks.
Over the years the JCCG has put forward various proposals on how to help support the cost of the flat, including shortterm holiday use for visitors with mobility issues, which could still be an option for consideration.
The HSCP apologised last month for any concern and distress caused to the care group and community, while WHHA pledged to continue to be supportive of the Jura Care Centre Group and ‘be happy’ to discuss specific accommodation requirements that would help the community.