£60mshake-up plan for care homes unveiled
ONE of Wales’ largest local authorities has revealed £60m plans to close some care homes and replace them with new extra care accommodation and dementia beds, keep five current care homes open and create a new care facility for people with disabilities.
The plans – which will be considered by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday, and then by the council’s cabinet onDecember 5 – involve three new facilities offering extra care and residential dementia care, a fourth new accommodation for adults with learning disabilities and keeping five current care homes.
The plans include 40 extra care apartments and 20 residential dementia beds in Treorchy.
This would be near Ystrad Fechan care home which is temporarily closed with no residents and would be permanently closed under the plans.
The plans would also see 20 extra care apartments and 10 residential dementia beds created in Ferndale near the existing Ferndale House Care Home and this would be closed when the new facility is finished.
Another part of the plans is for 25 extra care apartments and 15 residential dementia beds in Mountain Ash near the existing Troedyrhiw Care Home which would be closed when the new facility is developed.
The council also has plans to create accommodation to provide care for people with learning disabilities in Church Village which would involve the redevelopment of Garth Olwg Care Home. The care home would be closed when suitable placements are found for its residents, in a home of their choice which meets their needs.
Five current council care homes would be kept including Clydach Court in Trealaw, Pentre House, Tegfan in Trecynon, Cae Glas in Hawthorn and Parc Newydd in Talbot Green.
A council promise to modernise residential care options for older people was approved in 2016, while a £50m investment plan to provide 300 Extra Care beds in Rhondda Cynon Taf was agreed in 2017.
Two new facilities have been created in Aberaman and Graig, alongside Linc Cymru, which have provided 100 new beds.
The council said that modernising and improving adult care provision is a key council priority.
It added that this preferred option focuses on “preventative services, choice, independence, well-being and future needs.
“It would increase options for people who need accommodation and care, and offer a viable alternative for those able to remain independent with support.”
The council said it runs nine residential care homes offering 267 beds, making it one of the largest local authority providers in Wales.
It said it has had an increasing surplus of beds over many years – with 184 beds empty as of November 2022, rising from just eight vacant beds in 2016.
The council said that all care homes across the council and independent sector in Rhondda Cynon Taf have fewer than 85% of their beds occupied.
Overall, the council has 58% of its residential care beds occupied, and a third of its care homes have at least one in two beds empty.
In July 2022, Ystrad Fechan care home was temporarily closed, and 10 new beds were provided at Parc Newydd Care Home to help with discharges from hospital.
The changes were in response to occupancy rates and immediate pressures, ensuring access to quality support and care, the council said. It said that as a direct result of this, occupancy levels at other council care homes increased as the affected residents received suitable alternative provision. A further report is set to come back to cabinet at a future date with the feedback from the consultation.
If the preferred option is agreed by cabinet, more than £60m will be spent on residential care facilities.
Gareth Caple, the council’s cabinet member for health and social care, said: “The Council has a duty to ensure there are a sufficient number of quality residential care options to meet the needs of