Council says 'change is not painless' as two Northampton care homes and supported living facility close

Two Northampton care homes and a supported living facility are set to close under council plans to overhaul adult social care services.

West Northamptonshire Council’s cabinet met on Tuesday November 10 to discuss its internal day services, specialist support services for younger adults with disabilities, and the authority’s two care homes, Obelisk House and Southfields House.

The cabinet decided to close Southfields House and Obelisk House, which each contain 44 bedrooms and provide residential and dementia care for older people and adults with physical disabilities and complex needs.

The closures will leave West Northamptonshire will no council-owned care facilities.

Both homes will stop taking new admissions, with Southfields House closing over the next year and Obelisk House the following year. The authority says both buildings are more than 40 years old and no longer meet modern care standards. A review into the homes also found they would require additional staffing costing £282,000 annually per home.

A consultation into the plans found nearly 90 per cent of residents and families opposed closure.

West Northamptonshire Council says residents will be helped to find alternative suitable accommodation.

The authority also plans to close Eleanor Lodge, which is home to 16 people aged 18 to 65 with physical and learning disabilities and mental health needs. The authority raised concerns about its suitability for modern supported living, shared facilities and ‘significant costs’ of improvements. People using the service will be found alternative supported living or community-based accommodation.

Councillor Laura Couse, cabinet member for adult care and public health, says ‘difficult choices’ had to be made and ‘change is not painless’ to prepare for the future.

At Tuesday night’s meeting she said: “The report identifies buildings that are no longer right for modern care. Changing patterns of need, workforce pressures and the way some services are used, capacity in the wider care market, and financial sustainability. At the same time, demand is growing for specialist support for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, complex autism, significant health needs, dementia, and other complex needs.

“We have a duty to use public money properly, and I will not pretend that finance is irrelevant. But this is not simply about saving money. It is about whether the services and the buildings we have today are suitable, safe and sustainable, for the people who need the support now and in the years ahead.”

The authority says a formal workforce consultation will now follow for staff. It says it ‘commits to exploring redeployment where suitable opportunities exist’.

But GMB Union, which represents care workers across the UK, has slammed the closures as ‘shameful’.

Rachelle Wilkins, GMB organiser, said: "It is shameful that Reform are dropping this bombshell decision on local people.

"Care workers, residents and their families have been left in the dark about what this decision will mean for them.

"Instead of investing in these homes to support their long-term viability, the council is opting to close the doors together in the middle of a care crisis.

"Reform councillors have been keen to stress they are engaging with everyone impacted, but care workers' have been left with little or no say about the plans.

"We will be meeting with workers in the coming days to decide on our next steps to fight these closures."

Other plans decided by WNC at the cabinet meeting include changes to council-run day services, which currently supports 131 residents with the most complex needs by encouraging greater independence and community involvement.

It will see closure of council-ran social and leisure services at Longlands in Daventry and The Forum in Towcester, along with stopping day-activities at Olympus House.

Specialist day services will instead be delivered from Gladstone Road, which will remain open as the council’s location for day services. The Live Community and Enablement Service, which provides support for adults with learning disabilities, will continue from No. 2 Abington Park Cottages.  

West Northamptonshire Council’s decisions follow a 12-week consultation involving service users, carers, staff and partner organisations.

It says the changes provide the strongest balance between ‘person-centred outcomes, service quality, future demand, operational sustainability, workforce resilience, estate suitability and value for money’.

Peter Thompson is the parent of a 39-year-old man who currently attends day care services in Daventry and Towcester.

He accused the council of ‘decimating’ social care and enforcing ‘draconian cuts’ to slash costs.

Mr Thompson said: “The council is about to decimate the current day service provision for adults with learning disabilities and in its place are offering vague promises over the day service opportunities in the private and volunteer sector.

“We must not forget the families and carers, who will ultimately have to deal with the negative results that these changes will bring.

“Currently my son, who has severe learning disabilities and is non-verbal, attends an excellent day centre at Longlands with a group of other disabled people. There is also the sister centre at the Forum, as well as the central Olympus House, all of which are owned by excellent staff, who show empathy towards these vulnerable adults, and are dedicated in their pursuit to help them lead a happy and fulfilled life, which should be the goal of us all.

“Services are guided and encouraged by caring and dedicated stuff, so they can achieve great things. They're not just of a group of disabled adults being cared for during the day, this is not a babysitting service. They are small communities of friends that have been together in lots of cases for many years.”