West Lothian Council’s three long-term placement care homes will remain open following an agreement by the West Lothian Integration Joint Board (IJB).
The IJB is responsible for commissioning adult health and social care services and overseeing the delivery of these services in West Lothian.
The IJB is facing a significant budget gap of £17.3 million caused by rising demand for services combined with insufficient levels of funding.
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In March the IJB agreed to review the options available that would achieve these financial savings. Part of the IJB’s review is to consider whether a larger percentage of service users could be placed into the growing number of independent care homes in West Lothian.
However, in a move that aimed to prevent the need for long term placement care homes to close, last week West Lothian Council agreed to allocate the IJB with an additional one-off investment of £1.216 million.
The funding was offered on the basis that it is used by the IJB to keep all of the council’s long-term placement care homes open until at least March 2028 (which is the IJB’s service planning period), thus safeguarding the long-term care to existing care home residents.
At the IJB meeting today, the IJB agreed to accept the council’s offer and have agreed that there are no plans to close any of the long-term placement care homes.
Limecroft, Whitdale and Burngrange are West Lothian’s only council run homes offering long term care for 110 residents.
A fourth site at Craigmair, in Livingston, will close to new admissions and has ultimately been earmarked for reopening as a community hospital to replace Tippethill near Armadale and the currently shuttered St Michael’s Hospital in Linlithgow.
Councillor Andrew McGuire, backed by Councillor Tom Conn asked for a delay on decision to close Tippethill and St Michael's and more assurance that the redevelopment of Craigmair as a co-located site for dementia care and a community hospital could be funded.
Craigmair currently acts as a temporary facility for those awaiting a long term placement in care facilities.
The IJB agreed to retention of the care homes but went to a vote on hospital closures and redevelopment of other elderly care services.
Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “We are delighted that our offer of funding has been accepted by the IJB and that they have taken necessary steps to prevent the closure of these homes. This provides much needed stability for residents, their families and 171 care home staff.
“Despite the incredibly difficult financial position that we face, our offer of further financial support aimed to guarantee that none of the three care homes offering long term care will have to close.
He added: “There is obviously a high degree of concern with this important issue and, given this review could affect some of the most vulnerable people in society, I’m sure this news will be warmly welcomed by the families of loved ones staying within the three long term care homes and staff.”
