CORNWALL Council has agreed that it will step in to rescue failing care homes amid concerns about the number of beds being lost, writes local democracy reporter Richard Whitehouse.

In agreeing to develop a new policy, which will enable the council to intervene when homes are failing, councillors also called on central government to do more to address the issue.

The council’s cabinet heard that last year almost 300 care home beds were lost in Cornwall.

A report to councillors highlighted that in the past year the council’s safeguarding quality assurance team has managed the closure of eight homes and overseen the purchase of Trefula Nursing home in Redruth ‘to safeguard the provision of high support dementia nursing care’.

Trefula was the last nursing home in the area with three other homes having closed in the previous 12 months. It had also been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The home was taken over by Cornwall Council and the CQC was carrying out a review.

Rob Rotchell, cabinet member for adult social care, said: ‘Last year in 2018 we lost almost 300 care home beds in Cornwall. The market is very fragile. In Cornwall we have seen one new care home open in the last ten years. That sets it out.

‘The demographics are clear, the challenges are that we have a rapidly ageing population and particular pressure on dementia care services.

‘We were very clear that if we hadn’t intervened the likelihood of those people having to be placed outside of Cornwall was something we didn’t really want to have to consider, hence our intervention.’

Cllr Rotchell also made it clear that the council was only looking to intervene in care homes where it commissioned services.

Cornwall councillor for Callington Andrew Long said: ‘Caring for this part of our community, as with all other parts, is vitally important and it is good to see Cornwall Council taking their responsibilities seriously and intervening when required. I just wish that central government had the same desire to protect the community. The race to de-regulate the industry has been partially responsible for the situation we are in and the Care Quality Commission need to look carefully and when and how they give licences to care homes. However, until then, it is good to see the council ensuring to the best of their ability that the public are protected.’

Cabinet member Andrew Mitchell said it was time for the Government to provide more support.

Cllr Rotchell said the delay in the Government publishing a green paper on social care, which was first scheduled to be done in January 2018, had also not helped.

The cabinet unanimously agreed to developing a policy in the event of provider failure to minimise risks to people, the care market and workforce.