The closure of a Perth care home would be “irresponsible and catastrophic” for the elderly, a campaigner has claimed.
The closure of the Perth and Kinross Council Beechgrove Care Home has been suggested as a way of saving more than £500,000.
It was on the agenda of the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board in January but when a vote on closure was deadlocked the matter was deferred until the board’s next meeting on March 23.
Now Sheila Harris, whose 95-year-old mother-in-law Betty Harris is one of the Hillend Road home’s residents, has written to all the voting members of the board.
In her letter she points out that at the moment the home is running at 100% capacity with all 18 beds full.
“Closing a well-managed, well-run, good quality care home would be completely irresponsible and catastrophic for our elderly population,” she said.
“It means that people would have to make the decision to place their relatives at a distance and therefore greatly reduce family contact time or place them in a care home that only provides ‘adequate’ care.
“That is not acceptable for my very special mother-in-law — would it be good enough for your elderly relative or even for you when you are older? I personally believe we should be striving for excellence in our care services.
“I would also like to challenge the implication in the consultation document that families are anxious around change and therefore want the status quo.
“I personally am all for change if it is positive, I am completely for reforming of services and I am very aware of the financial climate. However, this recommendation is not about reforming services it is simply saving money and in a way that will negatively impact some of the most vulnerable in the community and the NHS services.”
In her letter Mrs Harris urges the board members to visit the home before backing closure.
“There can be no doubt, at best this decision (closure) will have a huge negative impact on the well-being of the elderly of Perth city, will lead to a crisis in capacity for quality residential beds and will result in the loss of very skilled care workers,” she said.
“At worst it will cost lives of the current residents.”
