Following news that Apthorp Care Home is to be closed, Labour councillors are calling on Barnet Council to ensure there are no compulsory redundancies, and that residents and their families are fully involved in the process to find them new homes.
Barnet Council care subsidiary, Your Choice Barnet, has made the decision to close Apthorp rather than pay £2.7m in essential fire safety and other building works, which it claims it can’t afford. The 108-bed care home is currently under-occupied with only 27 residents. 93 staff are affected.
The care sector in England is underfunded by the Government by around £17billion.
Leader of the Barnet Labour Group, Cllr Barry Rawlings said:
“Barnet Council and Your Choice Barnet have a responsibility to ensure the health and wellbeing of both residents and staff.
“The process of moving will be unsettling for these elderly residents, and they and their families must be fully involved.
“I’m also seeking assurances that every effort will be made to redeploy staff to appropriate posts and to prevent any job losses.
“The Barnet Labour Group pays tribute to all the staff at Apthorp and indeed all care staff who have been caring for Barnet residents throughout the pandemic.
“Shamefully they have been let down by Prime Minster Boris Johnson who has repeatedly promised to ‘fix the crisis in social care’ yet failed to do so.”
Ends.
Notes:
- For more information see the following Delegated Powers Report: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s66380/Apthorp%20Care%20Home%20DPR.pdf
- For more information on the social care funding gap see: https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/charts-and-infographics/REAL-social-care-funding-gap
- To contact Cllr Rawlings: cllr.b.rawlings@barnet.gov.uk