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RESOLVED: Cabinet;
a)   
Considered the outcome of the public consultation
exercise on the future options for Ridgway House.
b)   
Approved the commencement of a safe closure
programme with immediate effect, which will support residents to
move to alternative residential care accommodation within the
area.
c)   
Approved the commencement of formal consultation
with affected staff members on their redeployment into other
council services in accordance with established HR policies and
processes.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
a)   
Enabled the Council to prevent Ridgway House
becoming both unsustainable and unsafe to the point that there is
risk to the wellbeing of the care homes residents.
b)   
Ensured that residents receive the high quality of
care in a setting that is suitable and meets both their needs and
the needs of future residents.
c)   
Ensured the Council is able to deliver best use of
its available adult social care budgets in meeting its statutory
duties.
 
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:
·        
No change: To make no change to the existing
facilities would mean that occupancy levels would continue to
decline and the service difficulty in providing safe staffing
levels is only likely to increase. The condition of the buildings
is likely to result in further practical challenges and it is
likely that residents would need to be moved to alternate provision
at either a time when there needs can longer be managed within the
home or at a point of crisis.
·        
Safe closure programme: A programme of safe closure
would involve stopping new admissions to the service and
recruitment to any staff vacancies within the home.
Residents’ care and support needs would be reviewed and we
would work with them and their families to identify alternative
arrangements for their care. The closure would be managed in
accordance with Managing Care Home Closures Good Practice Guide and
management Checklist approved by the CQC. For the affected staff
group we would engage the council’s appropriate HR policies
and undertake a process of redeployment of staff into our other
care settings, with redundancy only where unavoidable. As far as
possible we would seek to resettle people with the redeployed staff
into Council delivered homes to support continuity of care and
maintain friendship groups as far as possible.