People in St Monans fear that Fife Council’s plans for transferring elderly care homes to the private sector will lead to the closure of a well-respected facility in nearby Anstruther.
St Monans Community Council has told the local authority there is considerable concern in the village about the potential impact on Ladywalk House.
The residential home is among seven which the council proposes to hand over to the private sector, the not-for-profit sector or to be run as social enterprises.
Three others Appin House and Raith Gates, in Kirkcaldy, and Matthew Fyfe, in Dunfermline could be replaced by two new homes built at a cost of £16m.
The secretary of St Monans Community Council, Ruth Craib, said, “We would be unhappy at the change of Ladywalk from council to privately-run, but we have even greater fears of the potential total loss of the facility should the land be sold for private development.
“Living in an area with a high and increasing level of elderly residents, we can ill afford to lose a home which delivers valuable residential, day and respite care to our more vulnerable citizens.”
Mrs Craib said the home served a local population and allowed partners and relatives of residents, many of whom were elderly themselves, to visit easily and frequently.Long journeysShe added, “It would be extremely difficult and distressing if they had to make long journeys to visit their relatives in a care home in another part of Fife.”
There were also concerns for the staff, many of whom were said to live locally, and who were said to be well-trained and very familiar with residents, their backgrounds and the area where they had lived their lives.
Mrs Craib said there was a belief that social work liaison for respite and day care services in council-run homes was far stronger and more effective than in private homes, and that the service was considered extremely important in the community.
She added, “We feel that council-run homes provide an important benchmark in the standard of care, staff training, salaries, costs and location and there is a fear that without council-run facilities in the area there is a real possibility that similar standards may not be maintained within the private sector.
“It would be possible to carry out gradual upgrading to existing homes rather than the more radical expenditure on new homes resulting in the loss of several care homes across Fife, and we would urge all avenues to be investigated before the decision on the loss of any homes is taken.”
The community council also suggested that costs for places in private homes would rise under supply-and-demand principles as it was likely that the transfer of residents from council homes would absorb all existing vacancies in private homes.