The administration which runs Fife Council has been accused of causing “anxiety and emotional distress” for the region’s most vulnerable residents during the controversial debate over the future of local authority-run care homes.
Cupar councillor Roger Guy insists the decision to offload council care homes was the right one, but slammed administration chiefs for “refusing to accept” the severity of the financial crisis facing the authority.
Mr Guy believes the public were given false hope as council leaders appeared to first suggest care homes would be upgraded only to then conclude they should be sold off.
“The issue of residential care homes in Fife has given rise to a great deal of anxiety and emotional distress for vulnerable people,” the councillor said. “Posturing and machination by politicians has been neither helpful nor edifying.
“I believe that much of the current distress would have been avoided if there had been greater realism some time ago. It has been clear for some years that the existing arrangements for providing in-house residential care are not sustainable.
“However, the council administration’s refusal to accept this until this year together with its declared intent to spend £40 million on rebuilding and upgrading Fife’s 10 (council-operated) residential care homes resulted in a build-up of expectations which have now been dashed.”
With budget cuts beginning to bite, Mr Guy warned of a “crunch time” for Fife Council. He believes further hard decisions will be required in the weeks and months ahead.
“I accept fully that firm and truly held beliefs should be respected, but I also believe that reality requires compromise and at times the adoption of unfamiliar views,” Mr Guy said.
“There is a severe financial crisis. Responsibility for dealing with components of this crisis have moved from national Westminster government level, on to Scottish parliamentary level and now it has percolated down to local authority level.
“It is crunch time in Fife Council and this year’s budget setting exercise has been very difficult. Clearly there was a need to find ways of reducing expenditure without depriving people of essential services.”
Mr Guy insists council care homes too expensive to run and suggested that although not universally popular the private sector will ultimately provide a cheaper option, without compromising quality.