Keep Notrees care home open plea

West Berkshire Council is being challenged on its plans to close the Notrees Care Home in Kintbury.

The parish council says the council’s data – to justify closing the 18-bed home – is skewed because of the pandemic.

It says there is ‘a false view of the facts and drives towards an inaccurate conclusion’.

Jon Hemphill, vice chairman of Kintbury parish council, said: “We accept the difficulties that will face all councils moving forward with regard to adult care placements for those suffering with some degree of cognitive issues.

“However meeting the demand for this sector of the market should not be at the expense of the other area.

“We believe that closing Notrees, and moving residents to one of the two other care homes in Newbury, will impact on the number of beds available at these homes for people with cognitive issues.

“We believe that a second approach should be considered and that is to relocate people in residential care in the homes in Newbury to Notrees, leaving the homes in Newbury space to cater for those people with cognitive issues requiring care.”

He continued: “Much has been reported regarding the current occupancy levels at Notrees, with figures of 18 placements being available but only 10 being currently occupied.

“When you consider that of the 18 beds at Notrees, four are split between two double occupancy rooms which were not allowed to be used during the pandemic years, and a further two rooms are allocated for respite, which were not available during the pandemic years, the true occupancy was 10 of 12 available beds.”

At Notrees, there is space to accommodate 18 residents and currently 10 residents are being cared for.

The council said that Notrees residents and their families would be supported to relocate to one of its other care homes, or an alternative private service.

West Berkshire Council said the consultation has now closed, but it doesn’t agree that the parish council is contesting its data

“They have come to a different conclusion based on the data which we shared,” said a spokesperson.

“It is a question of interpretation/analysis rather than accuracy, but of course we will be considering all responses and input provided as a result of the consultation.”

The district council currently manages three care homes in West Berkshire; Birchwood, Willows Edge and Notrees.