The Chairman invited questions and comments on
the three presentations. The following
points were raised:
- It was clarified that the Older
People’s Accommodation Strategy proposed two 80-bed nursing
homes for Salisbury, along with a 64 bed care home for people with
dementia, and a 50 unit extra care scheme.
- Reference was made to a site just
off Salt Lane, which was believed to be in the Council’s
ownership and currently for sale. It
was suggested that this would be an ideal location for a care
home. Councillor John Thomson commented
that all council-owned land was evaluated for possible uses prior
to being sold.
- Concern was raised that a request
from Salisbury’s Got Talent (a not for profit organisation
offering support to older people and disabled people) had submitted
a request for that site, which had not received a
response. Councillor John Thomson
undertook to investigate. It was also
noted the council had changed the way is funded people; service
users often now had control of their own budget and so there may be
increased opportunities for organisations such as Salisbury’s
Got Talent.
ACTION: Councillor
John Thomson
- It was noted that the Council was
currently in discussion with the PCT regarding the Old Manor
Hospital site, with a view to acquiring part of the site to develop
some form of care home provision.
Councillor Thomson commented that this approach was being followed
for all PCT land disposal to ensure that such sites continued to
provide benefit for the people of Wiltshire rather than being sold
and the money returning to the Department for Health. In addition, it was acknowledged that the Old
Manor Site incorporated an historic building which required
maintenance.
- The proposed GP surgery on the Old
Manor Site was a project being managed by the GPs and the PCT.
- It was noted that the Tenants’
Panel could be involved in publicising services and in contributing
to consultations on new services.
- Reference was made to the need for a
card for disabled people. Blue badges
were not always suitable as they had to be left in vehicles for
parking. The Chairman undertook to look
into this. Debrah Biggs referred to the
Safe Havens project which was being launched on 28 July, and the
ICE (In Case of Emergency) cards, which listed any disabilities or
medical conditions of the bearer.
ACTION: Councillor
Richard Clewer
- It was suggested that a priority for
older people was improving the condition of pavements.
- In response to questions, Nicola
reported that the new equipment service for older people would
start in October, with the response service starting in
January.
- Concern was raised regarding
disabled access to the Council Offices in Bourne Hill. Steve Milton (Head of Community Governance)
undertook to investigate the possibility of improved signage.
ACTION: Steve
Milton
- In response to a question regarding
the demise of Southern Cross, James commented that only low
occupancy homes were expected to be affected. The Southern Cross homes in Wiltshire were around
90-95% occupancy and so were not considered to be under
threat.
- Further to a question relating to
the staff who would provide the broader
range of services, Nicola reported that the Council did not
currently have access to the workers with these broad
skills. However, once service providers
had been appointed, the Council would work with the NHS to develop
training. Monitoring would be
undertaken from service user feedback.
- It was clarified that the need to
improve the current accommodation for older people in Salisbury
related partly to poor energy efficiency but also to the size and
design becoming less suitable for the service needs. In many cases, it was cheaper to demolish and
rebuild facilities.
- The meeting noted the importance of
maintaining a high standard of staff care as well as the quality of
the material facilities.