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Thursday, July 03, 2008, 07:30
The decision to close Bramblebrook House in Mickleover was taken when the previous Labour administration was in place.
The closure was being fought by residents in the home through Smith Partnership solicitors. A judicial review was due to be heard this year, which would mean a High Court judge would rule whether the council had made the right decision to close the home.
But last month, the new cabinet member for adult services and health, Liberal Democrat Ruth Skelton, announced she would propose to the council's cabinet that the home should be kept open for at least 18 months.
She said that would allow the council to carry out a review of all care provision in the city before it made a final on decision on which home, if any, should be closed.
Simon Richardson, of Smith Partnership, said if the cabinet agreed to her proposal when it meets on Tuesday he would not continue the legal action.
“However, there are side issues I want looking at, such as exploring the use of Bramblebrook for other specialist care,” he said.
“Also, if the decision is taken at the end of this review to close Bramblebrook, then it will be up to the residents if they want to challenge that decision with a separate action.”
The number of permanent residents at Bramblebrook when its closure was announced was 38. That has now gone down to 20 due to deaths and some residents accepting places at other homes.
The former cabinet member for adult services, Labour councillor Fareed Hussain, said the cabinet should take into consideration whether keeping the home open made financial sense with the number of residents declining.
He said: “I know when I was the cabinet member the cost of running the home each year was more than £700,000.
“With just 20 residents, that means the cost per person there is high and if that number reduces further, then that cost will be even higher.”
Michael Foote, corporate director of adult services, said that if the number of residents at Bramblebrook went down considerably during the next six months then the council may have to look at the situation again.
“We will look at the situation at the end of the review but it is unlikely there will be so few residents there,” he said.
Under the proposals, residents who have moved to other homes because they believed Bramblebrook was going to close this year will be able to move back, as long as they accept that their return may not be permanent as the review could still conclude the home should close.
The money from the sale of Bramblebrook, in Rough Heanor Road, would have gone to make the Arthur Neal site in Mackworth an extra care complex.
If the Mackworth site becomes an extra care home, residents would be able to live in individual flats while also having 24-hour specialist care staff on hand.
The cabinet will have to consider on Tuesday whether to carry on with work to develop the Arthur Neal site while the review is carried out.
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