North East Derbyshire MP Louise Sandher Jones Joined Campaigners Opposed To The Closure Of Eckington Care Home. Courtesy Of Ms Sandher Jones.
Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
North East Derbyshire MP Louise Sandher-Jones has expressed how ‘devastating’ the closure of one of the eight care homes closed by Derbyshire County Council has been for families and residents after the authority’s planned sale of the facilities collapsed.
The Reform UK council’s planned sale of eight of its Derbyshire care homes, including The Grange, at Eckington, to a single provider failed leading to their closure after the authority had adopted a money-saving and care restructure strategy which had originally been put in motion by the former Conservative-controlled authority.
Labour MP Ms Sandher-Jones said: “It cannot be put into words how devastating this has been for the families and residents of the care home.
“I know that families, staff, UNISON and many others have worked tirelessly campaigning to stop this closure. I have fought hard alongside others on this matter to make sure that we continue to protect vulnerable residents from the closure and uncertainty.”
The council confirmed the eight care homes have now been officially emptied as of the first week of June and closed and they are set to be disposed of on the open market while the remaining residents have been moved and a process to dispose of the buildings is underway.
A Reform UK cabinet member also revealed the disposal process for some of the care homes could include reusing the properties for another council service.
The eight care homes the former Conservative council agreed in November 2024 to stop operating and to sell included: Briar Close, at Borrowash; Castle Court, at Swadlincote; The Grange, at Eckington; Lacemaker Court, at Long Eaton; The Leys, at Ashbourne; New Bassett House, at Shirebrook; Rowthorne, at Swanwick; And Thomas Colledge House, at Bolsover.
Derbyshire County Council has already filed a notice for the disposal of the first of the affected care homes, Castle Court, at Castle Gresley, to be decided in a confidential meeting due in July.
Campaigners, unions, opposition councillors and MPs had fought for the council to reverse the decision to sell the homes.
The UNISON union has opposed the council’s plans for the care homes and feared closures from the very start, led protests, organised public meetings, lobbied Westminster and repeatedly urged the council to rethink plans it said risked uprooting vulnerable residents and breaking up experienced care teams.
UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary Martin Porter said: “UNISON Derbyshire is very sad that the eight Derbyshire County Council owned care homes have now shut.
“We would like to thank the staff and families of the residents who petitioned, marched, rallied, met MPs and visited Parliament to attempt to save these wonderful homes.
“They could not have done more. It is completely wrong that these much-loved communities should shut and that their long-term residents – some of whom are no longer with us – move out. This did not have to happen. We identified a buyer for The Grange in Eckington, and we are aware a buyer came forward for at least one other home.
“The chain of events that started this began under the previous council administration, but this decision was taken by the current Reform leadership. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
Opposition Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors also joined campaigners and concerned residents in a failed bid to stop the former Conservative council agreeing to sell the original eight care homes.
They argued the net savings of the decision were not stipulated in a relevant report and that no account was taken in the report of any possible increase in expenditure resulting from the decision.
Opposition councillors argued the decision would have a detrimental effect on some of the most vulnerable older people and the changes would not take into account an increasingly older population and what they believe is an increasing demand for residential care.
Nine Labour MPs also appealed to the former Conservative council administration in 2024 to reconsider its proposals to cease to operate, sell and potentially close the care homes after they claimed this could prove to be ‘devastating’ with ‘serious consequences’.
The former Conservative-controlled council originally agreed to cease operating the eight care homes as well as a ninth – Ada Belfield, at Belper – while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit and arguing a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care.
And the new Reform UK council administration took up the strategy and following the collapsed sale of eight of its care homes in December the authority was at least able to confirm in April that Ada Belfield is now subject to negotiations with a care provider to take over the running of this facility.
The council has confirmed it has offered a commercial lease for the whole site, including the care home and library which will be unaffected by any new leasing arrangements and will continue to be run by the council.
Cabinet member for Adult Care, Cllr Joss Barnes, said the council was working through the details with the company and as the home was due to be transferred as a going concern, there were not expected to be any changes to the day-to-day care for residents.
He added that the council is confident that the staff who support the residents ‘will move with them’ under the new provider so that their care and relationships remain consistent.
Belper Together campaigners had opposed the council’s plans to cease to operate, sell-off or lease its care homes including Ada Belfield with concerns about privatisation and worries for the future of residents and staff as well as the home’s library and cafe.
UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary Martin Porter was pleased to learn Ada Belfield would survive but he stressed the union’s preference was always to avoid the privatisation of public services and he described Ada Belfield’s position as ‘cold comfort’ for those affected by the eight closed homes.
MP Ms Sandher-Jones added: “I know that residents will be as angry as I am that the Reform administration have sat on their hands and refused all appeals to reverse this decision. They were elected to deliver meaningful change for local people and they have failed at the first meaningful hurdle.
“Residents, their families, staff and local people deserve an honest explanation as to why the county council chose to make an exception for the Ada Belfield Care Home, in Belper, to allow for it to be sold to a private care provider, but not to do the same for The Grange.
“Let us not forget that UNISON, and the local press, had unveiled that there was a potential buyer for the home, but Derbyshire County Council refused to engage with them.
“It is clear from the negotiations on the takeover of Ada Belfield that they are willing to engage with potential buyers and yet here in Eckington they chose to wash their hands and not even try to sell the care home to a private provider.
“I am extremely disappointed, and increasingly frustrated, that the right thing has not been done for the residents of the home, the affected families, and for the wider residents of Eckington by Derbyshire County Council.”
The council has stated the focus of its in-house care homes is changing to wraparound care for the growing number of people with dementia and their carers including long-term specialist dementia care coupled with respite day and night breaks while working with health partners to increase the number of community support beds to help with timely discharges from hospital.
Cllr Barnes said this move follows a decline in demand for traditional residential care as people choose to stay in their homes for as long as possible and by the time they need to go into care they need more intensive support, such as nursing care, which the council cannot legally provide.
He has stated he was ‘devastated’ over the failed sale of the eight care homes and that each care home resident has been supported with a dedicated case worker, families have been consulted and staff will also be supported with redeployment and employment processes.
Following the latest developments, Cllr Barnes said: “Now our residents are settled into their new homes, our property department is assessing each of the eight care homes to determine what will happen to them.
“A range of options are available, including potentially re-purposing them for another council service or for sale.
“The future of each of the homes will be considered by our property team on an individual basis in the coming months.
“We supported our residents throughout this time with all eight properties empty by the first week of June.
“In July, our Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Carol Wood is due to consider whether or not Castle Court can be sold.
“It’s vital we have a sustainable in-house care service fit for the future and our focus is now on wraparound dementia care with integrated day services to support carers.
“We’ve increased the number of community support beds across the county which not only helps people get home from hospital, they also help prevent people from going into hospital by offering short-term support and rehabilitation.
“Our focus is to help more people to live independently at home, in their own communities among family and friends, which is what they tell us they want.
“This transformation will help us support our residents to live the lives they want to for as long as they can.”
Mark and Sonia Essex, whose late mother Sheila had lived at Castle Court with dementia, had told how they had ‘grave concerns’ while dealing with the care home’s uncertain future and Mr Essex described its closure as ‘absolutely scandalous’.
