Mayor 'shocked and concerned' at Place Court decision
Wednesday, 18th April 2012.
News that Care UK are set to take over running Place Court care home for the elderly in Haverhill has infuriated town mayor Cllr Maureen Byrne, who is still pledging the town council will fight the move.
In a statement Cllr Byrne said she was 'shocked and concerned' to discover that care homes in Suffolk were threatened with closure following the appointment of Care UK as Suffolk County Council's preferred manager of the county's homes.
Yesterday the council announced its choice of the company to run its 16 care homes including Place Court.
Cllr Byrne said: "The Town Council has long campaigned against the outsourcing of the homes, and in particular our own Place Court Residential Care Home.
"It is regrettable and demeaning to the local community that the county council has refused to meet with us, and has paid no attention to a 4,000-signature petition opposing the outsourcing and possible closure of the home."
Cllr Byrne also protested about distant organisations attacking the fabric of Haverhill's healthcare provision.
She said: "It feels very much at the moment as though health and social care services in Haverhill are under attack, by organisations that make decisions many, many miles away, and who seem to have no interest in listening to our views.
"Worse still, when asked to say how their decisions will benefit or protect our community, the silence is almost deafening.
"I offer one message to the county council before it continues with the outsourcing of Place Court, and it is the same one that I offer to NHS Suffolk following their recent decision to close the Crown Health Centre: 'Stop threatening services for vulnerable people in Haverhill. Start listening to Haverhill. Our community is more important than your budget cuts.'"
Cllr Byrne described the approach over Place Court as undemocratic and unaccountable and said it was wholly unacceptable to the people of Haverhill.
"The town council believes there are alternatives to outsourcing that will provide a positive future for our care homes," she said, "and that there are risks associated with privately-run homes that could have been avoided.
"We have repeatedly offered to discuss these issues with the county council, but to date without success. The result is that residents and their families are now being subjected to unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty.
"Care UK is a major provider of private health and social care services, but this does not mean that the company is right for Haverhill.
"Indeed, their very size leaves me concerned that they will not be concerned with specific local needs and views, such as retaining Place Court in its existing location.
"Of course, there is also a concern that their need to make a profit will have an adverse effect on the services they provide, and I am worried by some of the press coverage of the company in this respect. We have received no reassurances about these concerns."
In a statement Cllr Byrne said she was 'shocked and concerned' to discover that care homes in Suffolk were threatened with closure following the appointment of Care UK as Suffolk County Council's preferred manager of the county's homes.
Yesterday the council announced its choice of the company to run its 16 care homes including Place Court.
Cllr Byrne said: "The Town Council has long campaigned against the outsourcing of the homes, and in particular our own Place Court Residential Care Home.
"It is regrettable and demeaning to the local community that the county council has refused to meet with us, and has paid no attention to a 4,000-signature petition opposing the outsourcing and possible closure of the home."
Cllr Byrne also protested about distant organisations attacking the fabric of Haverhill's healthcare provision.
She said: "It feels very much at the moment as though health and social care services in Haverhill are under attack, by organisations that make decisions many, many miles away, and who seem to have no interest in listening to our views.
"Worse still, when asked to say how their decisions will benefit or protect our community, the silence is almost deafening.
"I offer one message to the county council before it continues with the outsourcing of Place Court, and it is the same one that I offer to NHS Suffolk following their recent decision to close the Crown Health Centre: 'Stop threatening services for vulnerable people in Haverhill. Start listening to Haverhill. Our community is more important than your budget cuts.'"
Cllr Byrne described the approach over Place Court as undemocratic and unaccountable and said it was wholly unacceptable to the people of Haverhill.
"The town council believes there are alternatives to outsourcing that will provide a positive future for our care homes," she said, "and that there are risks associated with privately-run homes that could have been avoided.
"We have repeatedly offered to discuss these issues with the county council, but to date without success. The result is that residents and their families are now being subjected to unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty.
"Care UK is a major provider of private health and social care services, but this does not mean that the company is right for Haverhill.
"Indeed, their very size leaves me concerned that they will not be concerned with specific local needs and views, such as retaining Place Court in its existing location.
"Of course, there is also a concern that their need to make a profit will have an adverse effect on the services they provide, and I am worried by some of the press coverage of the company in this respect. We have received no reassurances about these concerns."
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