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Silent judgement on today’s care homes
Social services chief avoids giving his vote of approval
THE Town Hall’s social services chief has promised to build accommodation for the elderly which he would be happy for his own relatives to live in – but has dodged giving the same glowing reference to Camden’s existing old people’s homes.
Conservative councillor Martin Davies is facing his biggest test in the job so far after the New Journal’s exclusive revelations last week that the council plans radical changes in the way it helps pensioners.
The proposals, which involve funding the construction of two new care homes by selling existing sites such as the Ingestre Road home in Kentish Town and the Charlie Ratchford Centre in Chalk Farm, were confirmed in a press statement on Thursday.
Officials were in a dash to pass on information to staff and residents that had been kept under wraps until the New Journal exposé.
At one care home, there was a suggestion that part of that push was a veiled warning to residents against talking to the press about how they felt about the prospect of a transfer.
A silver-haired woman in her 80s, who did not wish her name or her home identified, said: “We were told we should listen to them (the council) and nobody else and that they would tell us what would happen. We were told to be careful of the newspapers.”
While the council is insistent that the plans are only preliminary and subject to public consultation, officials have already sized up the Wellesley Road home in Gospel Oak for demolition and a rebuild. Councillors and officials have looked at schemes in other boroughs.
Cllr Davies told a press conference on Monday: “The places we have looked at and are looking at doing here, I can honestly say that, when and if the time came, I could see myself or my family living in. Twenty years ago when we were looking for somewhere for my grandmother, there wasn’t anything.”
But asked whether he felt the same about Wellesley Road as it is now, Cllr Davies added: “That is a difficult question to answer. People like living there. It would be inappropriate for me to comment.”
Cllr Davies, who works for Age Concern, is trying to avoid condemning any individual block, especially Wellesley Road, which residents hold in great affection and consider a “home for life”.
But at the same time he has painted a picture of homes in which the elderly have little privacy or space to entertain guests. He wants to see homes that have the capacity for nursing care and better facilities for people suffering from dementia. He said: “Our care staff provide a fantastic level of care for our most frail and vulnerable residents. Unfortunately, we simply don’t have the homes and buildings to do justice to that care and hard work.
“I believe our older people deserve the best homes possible that help them live in as much dignity as possible – and that is just not possible without something as basic as your own bathroom. Most people, quite rightly, expect much more for their old age than previous generations.”
Cllr Davies wants residents and staff to get involved with the consultation, which officially begins on Monday.
But, while the Town Hall has tried to put a brave face on the massive task ahead, some council sources have already dubbed the issue “the new Almo” – a reference to the resistance Labour encountered when it tried to sell Camden’s council homes before their election defeat.
The Lib Dem and Conservative coalition is hoping to collect about £26 million from sales of its current homes but knows it could run into a row over who will run the two new homes, both to be built in Gospel Oak. Labour councillor Theo Blackwell said: “We still have no guarantees these new homes will not be handed out to the private sector.”
Labour housing spokesman Councillor Roger Robinson said: “They are trying to sell off valuable land to private developers for, I’ve no doubt, luxury flats. They want to keep council tax rises at zero for four years. It is illogical.”
Forum – page 24.
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