Fife Council urged to rethink private sector care homes plan in light of Southern Cross problems
Fife Council is coming under increased pressure to abandon its plans to privatise the region's care home services.
- By Claire Warrender
- Published in the Courier : 09.06.11
- Published online : 09.06.11 @ 06.39pm
The call by the local authority's Labour leader Alex Rowley and MSP Claire Baker came after healthcare company Southern Cross announced plans to cut 3000 jobs across its 750 homes in a bid to lessen its financial problems.
The firm operates seven homes in Fife, which between them have 368 beds, and the future of staff and residents has been unclear since it was revealed it is in a "critical financial position."
Fife Council has consistently defended its intention to close all 10 of its care homes and replace them with purpose-built accommodation run by the private or voluntary sector, saying its existing homes are not fit for purpose and it is not viable to keep them open.
Assurances have been given that no homes will close until alternative accommodation is available, which could take several years.
The local authority made it clear it had contingency plans in relation to Southern Cross, and said the continued care and welfare of residents was paramount.
However, Mr Rowley said the Southern Cross situation should serve as a stark warning to the SNP/Lib Dem administration.
"I know the council officials will work to do their best in this situation but the real issue is, are we seriously going to allow ourselves to be in this position in the future?
"If we take the steps of privatising the council provision, that will reduce even further our ability to respond to these situations. The question for the council is, do we simply want to be an observer or a direct participant in the delivery of care?"
Mr Rowley said there should be a mix of private and public-sector provision, otherwise the council would be "tying its hands behind its back" in future.
"To move public provision out completely and privatise everything is not a good thing to do. This Southern Cross situation just highlights that.
"There are over 300 places in council-run homes and there is spare capacity in the system of around 300 beds. If Southern Cross goes down, there won't be enough capacity in the system to cover that.
"That would be an unacceptable situation and that's why I'm calling for a rethink."
Rona Laing, head of older people's services with Fife Council, said, "At this stage nothing has changed and I can reassure that it is very much business as usual.
"We are all agreed that the continued care and welfare of residents is paramount so, as Southern Cross considers a range of restructuring proposals, we will monitor the situation very closely.
"We have a number of contingency plans in place across all our services in line with the council's risk management strategy. This is normal practice, and we are as a matter of course considering contingency plans in relation to Southern Cross."
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