New Tyne care home: council confirms it will stop providing services
Families whose loved ones are looked after by dementia specialists at a care home in Worthing have lost their fight to save it.
In September, West Sussex County Council announced it was proposing to stop providing services at New Tyne care home, in Durrington Lane, Durrington.
Relatives of residents rallied, saying the loss of the home would be ‘devastating’, while Worthing West MP Beccy Cooper said she was ‘deeply concerned and frustrated’ by the plan.
Now, the council has confirmed it will cease providing services at the home ‘as part of a move to ensure the long-term viability of adult social care in the county’.
The council said the decision was made by councillor Amanda Jupp, cabinet member for adults’ services, following a comprehensive review which included scrutiny by members of the health and adult social care scrutiny committee and the opportunity for residents’ families, staff and UNISON to have their views represented.
The council said the review found the cost to the council of operating New Tyne, which currently supports 12 older people with dementia, was significantly higher than commissioning care from the wider care market. The review also confirmed that there were ‘sufficient and suitable’ alternative care home places in the local area to meet the needs of the current residents.
Cllr Jupp said: “This was not a decision taken lightly. I recognise that New Tyne is a well-regarded home with dedicated staff, and I would like to thank everyone who contacted me to express their views and support about the future of the home.
“The need to focus on the welfare and wellbeing of the residents was paramount among people’s concerns, and I would like to reassure everyone that this has always been, and will continue to remain, our priority.
“The review that was undertaken showed that continuing to operate services at New Tyne is not financially viable in the long term, particularly when balanced against the need to provide sustainable, high-quality care for all our residents across the county.
“Our focus and commitment now will be to support the twelve residents in their move to alternative care. Our dedicated social care teams will work with each resident and their family and advocates, to identify their personalised needs, preferences and best interests to secure alternative care. Independent advocacy support will be provided where needed.
“We will support our highly valued staff members at New Tyne, exploring all options for alternative employment and redeployment within the council through a staff consultation process, alongside assisting them should redundancy be an outcome.
“Along with many other local authorities in the country, we continue to face considerable financial challenges in adult social care with ongoing high demand for our services and sadly this is a necessary decision to help ensure the council can continue to provide sustainable services for all residents across West Sussex, both now and in the future. We are guided in this by our Adult Social Care Strategy and its focus on ensuring we make the most efficient use of public money while upholding our commitment to safeguarding our most vulnerable residents in line with Our Council Plan.”
The decision to cease services at New Tyne will be subject to the council’s call-in period. Full details of the decision, as well as the council’s plans for its Future Care programme, are available at www.westsussex.gov.uk/FutureCare