Tag Archives: Clonmore

Where is the Mandate for Care Homes Non Admissions Policy?

East Antrim MLA and Ulster Unionist health spokesman Roy Beggs Jnr has again questioned the DUP Health Minister Edwin Poots on his admissions policy for long term stays in Residential Care Homes.  A just published answer to a written question posed at Stormont by Mr Beggs reveals that for the financial year 2012/13, there were no permanent admissions to Statutory (NHS Trust) Elderly Residential Homes in the Northern region, whilst at the same time 244 permanent admissions were referred to privately run homes. Mr Beggs said: “The Assembly Written Answer shows that the 4 other Health Trusts have been admitting residents to Statutory Residential Homes.  These figures confirm what anecdotally we already knew:  In the Northern Trust area, there is an on-going policy of closing all statutory residential homes by stealth through a non-admissions policy.  For example in my local area of Larne no new residents have been referred to … Continue reading

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Latest Residential Care Homes Statement is Creating More Anxiety: Beggs

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Roy Beggs Jnr has said that the announcement of a new round of consultations in the autumn on the future of NHS Residential Care Homes in Northern Ireland has created yet more confusion and anxiety for residents and their relatives. Mr Beggs, who has been working with friends and relatives of residents in East Antrim’s 3 NHS Trust Residential Home for the past year, said: “In May, Health Minister Edwin Poots announced that the consultation process on Residential Care Home closure- just launched by the individual Health Trusts- had been stopped. The official spin was that Mr Poots had stepped in and saved the Homes. That in reality was never the case. There was no change whatsoever on his policy of closing, or running down all NHS Residential Care Home across Northern Ireland. It is now clear that it was only a temporary pause to take … Continue reading

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Where are Local Plans to Replace Care Homes? asks Beggs

Speaking in a debate at Stormont about care for the Elderly, Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs Jnr has expressed his alarm at the lack of specific local plans to replace Residential Care Homes such as Lisgarel in Larne, Joymount in Carrickfergus and Clonmore in Newtownabbey- which have again been earmarked for closure by Health Minister Edwin Poots. Mr Beggs told the Assembly: “In my response to the Transforming Your Care proposals, I urged caution regarding the proposed changes to services for the elderly. I also expressed concern at the high risk of the flawed proposal to close so many homes so rapidly. I highlighted issues such as the increasing need for respite care in this new model, where domiciliary care increasingly becomes the primary source of retaining our older population in their own home. With our growing older population, I believe that there will also be a need for increased … Continue reading

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Residential Homes Closure Proposal Causing Uncertainty and Stress

Speaking about the local implications of the current proposals to shut the all the remaining Northern Trust Residential Homes local Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs commented: “This consultation has caused great short term uncertainty and stress for vulnerable residents and their families.” I have asked questions and made public comment at Stormont highlighting this issue since Transforming Your Care was published late in 2011. I also highlighted my concerns in my response to the consultation document.  In the background I have been working with relatives of residents in the Lisgarel in Larne helping to establish a Friends of Lisgarel support group. That work is on-going Sadly, rather than acknowledge and address these concerns, Health officials and the Minster appear to want to accelerate the closure programme. From personal family experience over the past year, I have seen how vital respite and rehabilitation services have been provided at these Trust Residential … Continue reading

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Beggs To Meet Trust Chief Executive over Residential Homes

UUP MLA Roy Beggs and a representation of Lisgarel residents will be meeting Sean Donaghy the Chief Executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Ballymena later in the week. The East Antrim MLA said: “Another 12 weeks ‘consultation’ process is being embarked upon. However, it seems to me that to all intents and purposes the decision to close has been made. In 2009 the then Minister of Health Michael McGimpsey refused to accept a similar proposal which came from the Northern Trust. This was after an unprecedented public reaction to a consultation at that time. This time however, the closures have emerged out of a complicated Report called ‘Transforming Your Care’ also known as the Compton Report. This was published in December 2011 and after a plethora of sub reports, the Minister made a statement to the Assembly last month stating that he was accepting the recommendations … Continue reading

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