Tuesday - d-day for Thornwood

By John DowlingA SWITCH from in-house to at-home care will spark job losses at a specialist Bexhill unit.

East Sussex county cabinet will be recommended on Tuesday to shift funding from 16 intermediate care beds and the 16-place day centre at Thornwood, Turkey Road.

A county council spokesman said this week: "The proposal is to re-direct more than 700,000 of funding away from intermediate care to community-based services, where there is a greater need. It would mean giving more people the opportunity to use social care services while remaining in their own homes.

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"There would be a minimal impact on current service users if Cabinet were to approve the recommendations."

The spokesman said it would not be accurate to say that the county was "closing" intermediate care at the centre as it was not the county's to close and the authority had no say over whether intermediate care continued there.

If approved by cabinet, more than 700,000 would be transferred from a contract that pays for services there into community care that allowed people to continue living at home.

The move has been agreed with Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust which, along with the county council, is a joint commissioner of services at Thornwood, and Rother Homes which provides the services.

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Staff at Thornwood were called to a meeting in the building's day centre last Thursday when Mike Cornish from county adult services broke the news to them at 24 hours' notice. They could be redundant in three months.

Thornwood, built 23 years ago, is currently jointly operated by East Sussex County Council, Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust and Rother Homes.

Each partner can serve three month's notice on the others of intention to quit.

It is understood that Thornwood's 22 sheltered flats will not be affected.

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Thornwood's intermediate care places are in great demand. Clients stay for up to six weeks, usually after discharge from hospital.

Closure of the intermediate care places would add to the already acute problem of hospital "bed-blocking", caused when accommodation cannot be found for hospital patients ready for discharge but not able to cope at home.

The beds are widely used for patients being discharged from the Conquest Hospital and from the Irvine Unit at Bexhill Hospital.

Staff have been forbidden to speak to the press but are said to be devastated by news of the threat to Thornwood services.

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They have been told that if Thornwood's services are axed "priority" will be given to finding them other county council posts if they become available.

Many of the staff are long-serving and have chosen to remain at Thornwood because of the centre's happy atmosphere and because of the job-satisfaction in seeing clients progress to the point that they can return to their own homes.

Grateful clients have written of the quality of care offered at Thornwood, which has no near-equivalent in the Rother-Hastings area.

Clients, particularly those attending the day centre for whom the care and companionship is their only weekly outing, are said to be in shock at the threat.

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King Offa Division county council member Cllr Graham Gubby said: "I understand and accept the financial arguments for trying to create a redistribution of limited funds to provide better care arrangements for our clients.

"This has been brought about, of course, because of poor government settlements at a time, particularly for Bexhill with our elderly population, that demand for services is increasing.

"I am concerned, however, that respite care for carers will be affected and also the opportunity for these people to come together to mix socially will need to be provided in a different way.

"I will be stressing my points with my colleagues prior to be cabinet meeting."

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